By using the Xbox Velocity Architecture, both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S provide a massive leap in performance and reduction of load times in games. In fact, both consoles use a custom internal NVME SSD where you can store and play all your games at their best. The Xbox Series X comes with 1TB of storage and the Xbox Series S comes with 512GB.

Generally speaking, with an Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S you can expect to have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 8-12 games on the console. Both consoles can hold about the same number of games because Xbox Series S games, on average, are 30% smaller as they do not require 4K textures. Each game varies in size but these numbers above are good estimates.

As a result, you are probably wondering the following. What happens when I run out of storage on my Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S? What options are available to expand storage? How do I expand storage on my Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S? Are there any advantages of using one storage expansion over the other? These are all very good questions and we’ll answer them below.

What happens when I run out of storage on my Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S?

Once you fill the internal storage on either your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S you have a few options. The first is to delete games that you don’t play often to free up more space. You can then, at a later time, reinstall or download the game(s) again when you want to play them.

Unfortunately, sometimes this can be a difficult decision especially if you have other family members who play games on the same console. In my past experiences, having to pick and choose what games you have downloaded and installed on your console is never an easy thing to do.

storage on Xbox Series X

What options are available to expand storage?

If you’ve decided that you don’t want to delete games that you have installed on your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, you have options to expand storage. The first, and most economical, way to expand storage is by adding a USB hard drive to your console. Both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S support high speed USB 3.1 storage.

storage on Xbox Series X

Your other option to expand storage on by using a Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion Card. Not to be confused with the Seagate FireCuda Gaming Dock, the Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion is built using the Xbox Velocity Architecture.

storage on Xbox Series X

How do I expand storage on my Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S?

The great news is, once you have decided how you will expand storage on your console it’s very easy to do. If you decide to expand storage via a USB hard drive, all you have to do is plug it into one of the USB ports on your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. The console will instantly recognize the device and prompt you to format it. If you are using an existing USB hard drive from your Xbox One, there is no need to format and all of your games on the hard drive are instantly available.

If you’ve decided to expand storage on your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S by using the Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion Card, you simply plug it into the Storage Expansion slot on the back of either console. That’s it! Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

storage on Xbox Series X

Are there any advantages of using one storage expansion over the other?

The biggest differences between using a USB hard drive or Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion Card is price and convenience. A USB hard drive is more economical and allows you to add more than 1TB of storage at a time. However, you can not play Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S games from it. In order to play, you have to move Series X or Series S games to the internal hard drive on the console.

On the other hand, the Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion Card is exactly identical to the NVME SSD inside each console. It is more than 40 times faster than a USB hard drive. As a result, you can store and play Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S games directly from the card. However, the cost is considerably more than a USB hard drive.

Below is a quick comparative summary between using a USB hard drive and the Segate 1TB Storage Expansion Card.

storage on Xbox Series X

Expanding the storage on your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S is easy to do

As you can see, adding storage to your Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S is easy to do. Xbox has made the process consumer friendly and is as simple as plugging in either a USB hard drive or a Segate 1TB Storage Expansion Card.

Regardless of whatever storage expansion method you choose, you’ll instantly have more storage on your console in a matter of seconds. If you have any further questions that I might not have answered, please let me know in the comments section below. I’ll do my best to answer those questions and help you decide what is best for you.

Pre-order Seagate 1TB Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X and Series S
Purchase a USB hard drive for Xbox Series X and Series S

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Jon Scarr
Jon is the Gaming Editor and is based in Toronto. He is a proud Canadian who has a serious passion for gaming. He is a veteran of the video game and tech industry with over 20 years experience. You can often find Jon streaming the latest games on his YouTube channel. Jon loves to talk about gaming and tech, come say hi and join the conversation with Jon on Threads @4ScarrsGaming and @4Scarrsgaming on Instagram.

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