Microsoft has confirmed that recent rumours of a cut in the price of the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive across Europe are correct. The manufacturer told Register Hardware that the drive will now retail for around €20 (£13/$27) less than before.

According to a Microsoft representative, the player will now retail for £115 in the UK and €180 across Europe. The announcement was originally made by the HD DVD Promotional Group, but caused confusion among gamers when the cut wasn't immediately confirmed by Microsoft.

As an added bonus, European gamers will also receive three free HD DVD discs of their when they purchase the player.

The European cut follows a similar cut made in the US back in July, when gamers saw the price of the HD DVD drive for the console snipped by $20 to $179.