A new report suggests a cheaper Xbox expansion card option could be released soon for the Series X|S.

With the ever-expanding sizes of games (looking at you Call of Duty), people were disappointed when the internal storage sizes of the next-gen consoles were revealed. Both console manufacturers offered up ways to increase the storage, with Microsoft landing on a proprietary expansion card route that plugs into the back of the system.

However, there is only one, costly option for Xbox owners in the form of a 1TB expansion card, which currently costs $220. Sure, people can use their own external drives for storing and playing previous generation games, but next-gen games are only playable from the internal SSD or the expansion card.

What made this singular option even more bizarre was, if a Series S owner bought this card, the combination of the system and expansion card would end up costing them more than a Series X itself.



REPORT
According to a report by XboxSquad.fr as spotted by Windows Central, people looking for a smaller and cheaper Xbox expansion card may get their wish soon. A listing for a 500GB Xbox card by Seagate, the same company Microsoft partnered with for the 1TB card, has appeared on the internal systems of wholesale retailer Innelec. Listed at the price of 125 Euros, this would be around half of the cost of the 1TB card in Europe, making this believable.


WHEN WILL IT RELEASE?
One would expect this to ship by the pre-holiday season, in time for the heavy hitter-games like Call of Duty Vanguard that are looking to make a dent in that drive space so its rumoured release date of November 14, 2021, wouldn’t be too far wrong.

This card price-point would also make the Series S a more attractive offer than it has been so far, with there finally being a console plus storage expansion option that will be around $100 cheaper than the Series X.

THE FUTURE
This cheaper Xbox expansion card is a good first step if it turns out to be true, but hopefully, Microsoft opens up more and starts offering more user choices like Sony has with the PS5. Perhaps some sort of plug-in adapter/enclosure that the user can slot their own SSD into as long as it meets the minimum requirements.



Posted: Sep 18, 2021 5:38 pm
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://www.dualshockers.com/cheaper-xbox-expansion-card-might-be-on-its-way-for-the-series-xs/