Xbox's pricey storage expansions are finally getting cheaper
At long last, storage upgrades that cost less than a new video game console
If you fill up your hard drive on an Xbox Series X or S, getting more storage space is a pricey proposition, but the burden is finally easing thanks to a permanent price drop.
Both modern Xbox consoles use a proprietary slot, so only officially licensed manufacturers can make storage expansions. Up until now, only Seagate had been producing storage expansion cards, and they have been extremely pricey, especially in comparison to the rapidly falling prices of PC M.2 drives - a generic solution that happens to be supported by PS5.
Now, Xbox has announced a permanent price drop for all three Seagate cards. The 512GB is now $90 (down from $140), the 1TB is now $150 (down from $220), and the 4TB is $280 (down from $400). Equivalent pricing outside of the US has not yet been fully broken down, but it does appear that the 1TB model, at least, will be dropping to £220 (down from £255).
Those prices are still a bit higher than equivalent M.2 drives, though the difference is not nearly so astronomical as it was. This comes just a month after a new storage expansion card from Western Digital suddenly appeared on a Best Buy store page. That card has not yet been released but currently looks set to launch at a price of $150, in line with the new Seagate prices.
You can still plug a cheap, standard USB hard drive into an Xbox Series console, but you can only use that to play older Xbox One titles or to store (but not play) Series-enhanced games. If you're looking for recommendations on the best Xbox Series X hard drive, you can follow that link.
Still trying to decide on PS5 vs Xbox Series X? We've got a guide for you.
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Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.