It seems extremely unlikely that the PlayStation 6 will have a disc drive, given that Sony is discontinuing PlayStation games on disc starting in January 2028, but what about Microsoft? Many have probably assumed that Project Helix (the next Xbox) won't include any discs, especially since Microsoft has been a strong advocate for digital games.
However, according to a report from The Verge last week, it seems the console might not necessarily be fully digital after all, as Tom Warren wrote:
"I understand Microsoft hasn't fully finalized whether the next-generation Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, will ship with a built-in disc drive..."
Over the weekend, a new episode of the Xbox Two Podcast was released, in which Windows Central editor Jez Corden shared his take on the matter, and he also believes there is some hope that physical games might survive after all (transcribed by Pure Xbox):
"Tom Warren put in an article [on The Verge] that nothing has been decided for Helix yet. Things had been decided for Helix previously, however Tom had more up to date information that [Microsoft is] now seeing what might be possible about Helix with regards to discs.
"I went and tried to update my information, and it does seem like indeed - they are trying to figure out what they can do here before they fully commit to the death of physical discs."
There's a chance that Microsoft might seize the opportunity to offer physical games now that Sony won't be doing so, if enough people ask for it. So if that's something you're hoping for, be sure to make your voice heard.