One of the most significant drawbacks of the Xbox Series S is its lack of a disc drive. Only the more expensive Xbox Series X has a Blu-ray drive of the two current-gen Xbox consoles. Unfortunately, that means that the Series S is completely unable to use physical media for games, movies, or music. This shortcoming has people wondering if Xbox will release an Series S with a disc drive or if they can use a USB Blu-ray drive to read discs.
Will there be an Xbox Series S Disc Drive model?
Some are hoping that an Xbox Series S with a disc drive will release with a pricepoint somewhere between the digital-only Series S and the Series X. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any discussions of a new Xbox Series X|S model. Furthermore, given supply issues, Microsoft cannot meet the demand for its current SKUs.
It’s possible that a cheaper model with a disc drive could be released during the mid-life refresh of the consoles. But, for now, we highly doubt there’ll be any announcements regarding a Series S with a disc drive. Microsoft targeted the price ranges it wanted to with these consoles, and there’s no reason for them to add a third to the lineup.
Can you use a USB Blu-ray drive?
One would think that Microsoft might have designed the Series S with upgradability in mind. After all, it’d be great just to plug in a Blu-ray player and use physical media. The company did it with its ill-fated HD-DVD players for the Xbox 360, so it’s not without precedent.
Unfortunately, Blu-ray drives won’t do anything when connected to a Series S. It’s likely the console lacks the drivers to use an external Blu-ray drive, and we don’t believe Microsoft will release a proprietary one anytime soon.
