Cheaper Xbox expandable storage cards are coming

Microsoft appears to be preparing new Xbox expandable storage options from other manufacturers. A new one Western Digital 1TB Expansion Card The Xbox Series S/X consoles were initially spotted at Best Buy, priced at $179.99. This is the first time we’ve seen Xbox expandable storage not made by Seagate.

Microsoft first introduced Xbox expandable storage cards with its Xbox Series S/X consoles nearly three years ago. There were 1TB cards Priced at $219.99 and manufactured exclusively by Seagate. Although we’ve seen 512GB and 2TB options appear from Seagate, similar storage for PS5 consoles has dropped significantly, but prices remain stubbornly high.

More manufacturers for Xbox expandable storage are in high demand and will help push prices in the right direction. Best Buy lists the Western Digital C50 1TB expansion card as low as $40 Like Seagate. At $179.99 it’s still a steep price for 1TB of storage, especially when you factor in the Samsung 980 Pro 1TB PCIe Gen4 drive. For $79.99 Right now.

Microsoft decided to go with proprietary storage for its Xbox Series X/S consoles, making installation more consumer-friendly. But pricing is affected by only one manufacturer. Sony opted for a standard M.2 SSD expandable storage slot instead, allowing PS5 owners to use a variety of drives on the market. You can also use slower PCIe Gen4 drives on the PS5.

It’s unclear when Western Digital’s new 1TB expansion card for Xbox will be available. Best Buy doesn’t have pre-order dates for the list, so we’ve reached out to both Western Digital and Microsoft for comment on the list.