Rumors abound on the internet about the Xbox Series X/S getting a new 500GB storage expansion card soon. As hardware developments allow for game developers to add more and more features to their games, those titles demand more space on a console’s hard drive. With games like Call of Duty: Vanguard taking up 270GB at maximum, it can be difficult for gamers to find enough space for all the games they want to have installed at once. The Xbox Series X and S only come with one terabyte of storage built-in (and of that, about 200GB is reserved for console software), and so more external options are always appreciated.

Hardware company Seagate has long been a provider of external storage options for a wide variety of machines, from desktops, to laptops, to game consoles. Currently it has one choice that plugs into the Xbox Series X and S, a one terabyte card that costs $219. While the company does have other options in the Game Drive line of products, which offers more variety in terms of space and price, those are external devices rather than integrated products. For gamers looking to cut down on peripherals and extraneous cables, integrated cards offer a smaller, less obtrusive method of adding storage.

Now, Video Games Chronicle has translated a report from French gaming site Xbox Squad claiming that Seagate is selling a 500GB version of its expansion card to suppliers in advance of a public release. This would stack half of the Xbox Series X’s storage capacity on top of what it has built in, and would double the more limited storage space of the Xbox Series S. While the price of this 500GB card is unknown, Xbox Squad reported a listing on French site Micromania that reports the price as €154.99, likely to be the same in USD. As for the release date, Micromania reports that the card will be released to the public on November 14th. This puts it at $70 cheaper than the one terabyte option, which retails at $220.


The release of a new storage card from Seagate would provide a new option for those who don't want to spend the price of the one terabyte card or who don't need as much storage space. This could be enough to tide gamers over until new consoles— hopefully with more storage space—release; it's rumored that new Xbox models might come in 2022. Between the integrated cards and the Game Drives, Seagate offers multiple pathways for those looking to store more games on their consoles than the consoles themselves can hold.

Games improve as the hardware to make them improves, and that comes with larger file sizes. The days of measuring games in megabytes are long gone, and adequate storage space has become a more pressing issue. This card will hopefully be the first of many varieties of additional storage to come.