Cheaper Xbox Series X SSD expansion cards are finally coming
Cheaper Xbox Series X SSD expansion cards are finally coming
A new Western Digital memory card for Xbox Series X|S has been seen in the wild
A new 1TB Western Digital expansion card for Xbox Series X|S has been spotted online, suggesting cheaper storage options are coming for the consoles.
As The Verge reports, the SSD expansion card was briefly listed on Best Buy over the weekend for $179.99. The listing has since been removed.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Xbox storage cards
🎮 A new Xbox Series X|S storage card has been spotted online
💰 The as-yet-unannounced 1TB Western Digital card was listed for $179.99
🙌 It looks like a cheaper alternative to the existing Seagate cards
📣 Microsoft and Western Digital haven’t yet confirmed its release
If released, the SSD will be the first expansion card for next-gen Xbox consoles outside of the existing Seagate cards. Those SSDs were released with the console’s launch in 2020, although their price has remained high: the 512GB Seagate expansion card goes for $139.99, the 1TB version for $219.99, and the 2TB card at $399.99 (more than the price of an Xbox Series S).
The Xbox Series X|S use a proprietary memory card system that makes the consoles incompatible with standard M.2 SSD cards. Players wanting to expand their system’s storage have until now been forced to shell out on a pricey Seagate card, but hopefully the release of SSDs from other manufacturers will push prices into more affordable territory.
Although a memory card isn’t necessary to use the console, they’re becoming increasingly important. Some of the best Xbox Series X games take up a colossal amount of storage, and while the Xbox Series X packs a 1TB internal SSD, the Xbox Series S only includes 512GB. Add in the system files, and you’re left with even less room to play with. If you’re the kind of person who plays lots of games at once or wants several multiplayer and live service games installed on your system, an expansion card is essential and one of the best Xbox Series X accessories you can buy.
Both consoles can also connect to standard USB storage devices, but their functionality is limited. Xbox Series X|S games can only be run if they are installed on the consoles’ internal storage or one of these proprietary memory cards, making USB storage devices useful for little more than holding pictures, videos, music, or running older Xbox games.
The PS5, by comparison, is quite as restrictive when it comes to storage. Sony’s console is compatible with generic Gen 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs, and while the PS5 SSD upgrade process may be a tad fiddly, it’s a whole lot cheaper than what Xbox players have to put up with. As the best PS5 games make increasingly large demands of the console’s storage space, that affordable expansion will only become more important, especially as you only get 667GB of usable space on PlayStation 5.
Check out our breakdown of the PS5 vs Xbox Series X to see if one console has the edge over the other, or take a peek at our guide to the Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S for a firmer understanding of how Microsoft’s two flagship consoles differ.