The Xbox Series X storage monopoly is finally over thanks to Western Digital
WD_Black has released 512GB and 1TB Expansion Cards for Xbox Series X to give Seagate some much needed competition
Xbox Series X|S owners now have more storage options to choose from at long last, as Western Digital has released its very own Expansion Cards for Microsoft’s console.
You can now purchase a 512GB or 1TB Expansion Card from WD_Black that slots neatly into the back of your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, giving you more room to download the best Xbox Series X games.
WD_Black’s Xbox Series X|S Expansion Cards cost $79.99 for the 512GB model and $149.99 for the 1TB model. If you’re an Xbox Series S owner, which only has 364GB of usable storage, picking up a 512GB or 1TB card is a must if you want to have a healthy selection of games to play on the go. Games like Call of Duty can take over 100GB in space alone, so bear that in mind.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: WD_Black Xbox storage
🙌 Xbox Series X|S owners now have more storage options to choose from
👏 WD_Black has released a 512GB and a 1TB Expansion Card
👍 The cards plug into the back of your Xbox consoles, just like Seagate’s
💰 The WD_Black Storage Expansion Cards costs $79.99 and $149.99
Since November 2020, players have only been able to pick up Expansion Cards from Seagate which, despite being incredibly convenient and easy to install, have remained an expensive proposition.
That’s because there were no alternatives for gamers to choose from, meaning Segate – by all accounts – had a monopoly when it came to storage options on Xbox Series X|S. It also meant that discounts and sales were rare, and unlike the best PS5 SSD options, which have continued to fall in price dramatically in comparison owing to the sheer amount of competition, Seagate’s cards didn’t follow suit.
Now, though, we should at least see the price of Xbox Series X|S storage become more competitive. Ahead of Western Digital’s announcement Seagate announced it was lowering the price of its Xbox Storage Expansion Cards (which come in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB options) by $50 to $80 permanently – a move that probably wouldn’t have happened without the added competition.
Despite being more expensive than typical NVMe SSDs, Microsoft’s storage solution is very consumer-friendly. Like the memory cards of old, you simply plug the Expansion Card into the back of your Xbox console and you’re good to go. What’s more, you can unplug it and take your games with you or use it on another system.
Western Digital also announced a new 4TB PS5 SSD to solve all your storage woes. But it isn’t cheap, costing $549.99, the same as the PSVR 2 price.