Microsoft Preps Cheap 500GB Expansion SSD for Xbox Series X|S

Microsoft
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Just like Sony's PlayStation 5, Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S consoles support SSD upgrades. There is a catch, though: the storage expansion card comes in a proprietary form-factor, so it is only available from one manufacturer and is rather expensive. However, according to a new report, there is a cheaper yet less capacious version incoming: Microsft and Seagate are preparing a new 500GB storage upgrade for the Xbox Series X | S consoles for roughly $150 USD.

Storage expansion cards for Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S are mandated to support the Xbox Velocity Architecture for storage and be just as fast as an internal SSD. At the moment, Seagate's 1TB storage expansion card is the only upgrade option, and it's available for $219.99 in the U.S. and €209 in Europe. In contrast, standard 1TB M.2 NVMe SSDs cost $100 – $130, so the value isn't exactly great, which is frustrating (there is a way to make a DIY card for Xbox X|S, though).

To make storage upgrades cheaper, Microsoft and Seagate are preparing to launch a 500GB expansion card that will be available in Europe starting November 14, 2021, reports XboxSquad.fr. Several stores in France have already listed the unit but had to remove the listing because the product has not been launched yet. 

Seagate's 500GB storage expansion card for Xbox Series X|S consoles is set to cost €154.99 ($151 without VAT) at Micromania.fr, which is evidently cheaper than the 1TB version. However, that's still too expensive compared to standard 500GB SSDs (meaning that the 500GB drive is even less of a value than the 1TB model).

For Seagate, making the Xbox Series X|S storage expansion cards isn't cheap. The SSDs have to support a very specific set of features (i.e., specific components and firmware), meet certain performance standards (requires validation), and use a proprietary form-factor. Finally, Microsoft wants a portion of the profits for every drive sold. If there was more competition, such as having several different suppliers, perhaps those expansion cards would be at least a bit cheaper. For now, it doesn't seem that Microsoft will open production up to more partners. 

Anton Shilov
Contributing Writer

Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. Over the past couple of decades, he has covered everything from CPUs and GPUs to supercomputers and from modern process technologies and latest fab tools to high-tech industry trends.

  • thisisaname
    For that price and capacity they may as well not bother doing it. Less than half the size for 70% of the price is truly bad value.
    Reply
  • ohio_buckeye
    I agree. 500gb for 150 is highway robbery. At that, go spend a little more and buy a 2tb ssd, and then buy an external enclosure for it, attach it via usb, then use it to offload games to. I have a 1tb ssd drive attached to my Series S(via usb), and a 2tb hard drive. If I want to install older games to play I can put them on the external ssd. If I want to move games to cold storage I can put them on my 2tb hard drive.
    Reply
  • kal326
    ohio_buckeye said:
    I agree. 500gb for 150 is highway robbery. At that, go spend a little more and buy a 2tb ssd, and then buy an external enclosure for it, attach it via usb, then use it to offload games to. I have a 1tb ssd drive attached to my Series S(via usb), and a 2tb hard drive. If I want to install older games to play I can put them on the external ssd. If I want to move games to cold storage I can put them on my 2tb hard drive.
    I did this with a 4TB SSD and am already aha I gave to shuffle stuff off the 1TB internal. With a few game installs over 100GB+ it’s hard to have multiple people using the console and not completely packing the 1TB.
    Reply
  • kal326
    What someone at Microsoft heard: “People are complaining that the only official expansion is too expensive”
    What they should have heard: “The only external expansion offering is a terrible price to storage ratio considering comparable non proprietary drives the direct competition allows”
    What they did: “Look there is a cheaper option now, high fives”
    Reply
  • sizzling
    If there is such a small difference for 1/2 the size does that mean there will be a similar small cost increase for 2TB?
    Reply