Western Digital Gives Gamers More Options For Xbox Series X|S Expandable Storage
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Several years ago, 512 GB and 1 TB of storage on any given game console provided more than enough space to store several games. Now, with game sizes ballooning with 50 to 60 GB being a fairly normal size for any given game, that terabyte can feel pretty small on an Xbox Series X|S. Previously, Seagate's storage cards were just about your only option if you wanted to expand your storage capacity on your Xbox. At $149.99 for a 1tb card, it's not particularly inexpensive. The 2tb card retails for $279.99 on Amazon.
Western Digital has now joined the field of expandable storage for Xbox with its WD_Black C50 line of cards. The 1tb option retails for the same price as Seagate's offering at $149.99. But Western Digital offers a 500gb card for $79.99 on its site. That can effectively double the storage capacity of the base model Xbox Series S. As of now, there is no option for a 2tb card like Seagate offers.
Game files aren't getting any smaller
To install the card, you just plug it into the storage expansion slot on the back of your console and you're ready to go. For performance, Western Digital says it offers similar specs to the stock SSD, meaning that you shouldn't see any dips in framerate or hang-ups while gaming. It is also compatible with the Xbox's Quick-Resume feature that allows users to suspend gameplay and pick up at a later time without the need to wait for loading times and navigating through the main menu, Seagate's cards are also compatible.
As a bonus, each card comes with a month of Xbox's Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which would further necessitate some extra storage capacity. More options for gamers are a good thing and likely more storage solutions are in the pipeline. Just don't expect new game file sizes to get any smaller, at least anytime soon.