Posted on July 24, 2013, Ian Miles Cheong Microsoft Officially Denies Kinect-Less Xbox One Report

UPDATE: We received a comment denying this story from a Microsoft spokesperson. Here’s the quote:

“We have no plans to introduce an Xbox One without Kinect. We believe in Kinect and the value it brings to both games and entertainment, and believe $499 is a great value for what consumers receive with their Xbox One.”

Remember how Microsoft said that they wouldn’t be selling the Xbox One without the presence of a Kinect? Well, a new report has surfaced that may blow that claim out of the water.

A source close to Inside Gaming has provided the publication with a report that Microsoft may be intending to release a Kinect-less bundle for the Xbox One in 2014. If true, the release of such a bundle would tear to shreds Microsoft’s claim that Kinect “is now an essential and integrated part of the platform.”

According to the publication, there will be not one, but two such bundles—a “normal” Kinect-less bundle and a “budget” bundle with a smaller hard drive. The budget Xbox One is intended to undercut the $400 price tag of the PlayStation 4, with a pegged price of $350 or $375.

One upside to this news is that, if true, there would be a version of the Xbox One for users who have privacy concerns about the always-on Kinect.

Microsoft has repeatedly stated that the Xbox One cannot function without a Kinect, although that appears to be nothing more than PR-speak given their statements that the Kinect can be “paused” completely while the system is turned off, listening only for someone to say “Xbox on”.

We have reached out to Microsoft for comment.