Series X Expandable Storage Will Be a Bit Different Than Previous Gens

The Xbox Series X will use what amount to memory cards to expand its storage space.

More news keeps landing for the upcoming new Xbox Series X console from Microsoft. Outside of the recent reveal of the system’s official specs, a surprising development about how players can expand hard drive space.

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The Series X comes standard with 1TB of space, although that may not be as much as you think due to the increasing size of new games with larger graphics files.

Although the console may be moving forward several hardware steps, there will also be a blast from the past that may not be great news for everyone. This unexpected reveal comes courtesy of a Digital Foundry deep-dive into the console’s hardware from top to bottom.

Users won’t be able to use HDDs, SSDs, or microSD cards directly to play Xbox Series X games if you run out of space with the included 1TB drive. Instead, the Series X will utilize custom SSDs with proprietary heat sinks included. In other words: memory cards.

Digital Foundry’s video indicates these will be Seagate branded drives.

While we don’t have any prices yet, we know that existing 1TB Seagate drives for Xbox One cost between $169 and $214. Certain other NVMe SSDs (which these would be) go for between $75 and $300.

While the Series X contains USB ports, those are included for backwards compatibility to connect Xbox One devices. Users will be able to plug in a USB memory stick and store games, but they will only be able to play backwards compatible Xbox One games from that drive. 

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more info on the release of the Xbox Series X coming soon. 


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Ty Arthur
Ty splits his time between writing horror fiction and writing about video games. After 25 years of gaming, Ty can firmly say that gaming peaked with Planescape Torment, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a soft spot for games like Baldur's Gate, Fallout: New Vegas, Bioshock Infinite, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. He has previously written for GamerU and MetalUnderground. He also writes for PortalMonkey covering gaming laptops and peripherals.