Microsoft could have a cheaper expandable storage card on the horizon, and it's for Xbox Series X/S users. PlayStation made its expandable storage cards much more accessible in the past, but it looks like Microsoft might be ready to start competing.

Microsoft launched its expandable storage cards about three years ago for the Xbox Series X/S. All the cards were manufactured by Seagate and the price was high from the beginning. For a 1TB card, a user would need to pay as much as $219.99. At first, only the 1TB option was available, and then 512GB and 2TB versions were also released. While variety in storage size options is preferable, the prices couldn't compete with PlayStation. The difference comes from PlayStations having a standard M.2 SSD expandable storage slot, which means users can purchase most cards available on the market and will work with their console. However, this is not the case for Xbox, where the consoles use proprietary storage. This may be considered more user-friendly when it comes to installation, but not for the user's wallet.

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It seems Seagate might lose its monopoly on Xbox's expandable storage cards since The Verge spotted a 1TB card for Xbox Series X/S made by Western Digital on the Best Buy website. The price of this expandable storage card is $179.99, which is $40 cheaper than the Seagate version. Although this price is still very high compared to the rest of the market, it could signal the beginning of healthy competition in this specific area. It would allow Xbox users to compare and contrast the two brands, purchasing whichever works best. It could also mean that Seagate might have to start lowering its prices if it wishes to retain the ability to compete.

Western-Digital-Xbox-Series-X-S-expandable-storage-card

Currently, there is no information about when the Western Digital expandable storage card might become available, as no pre-order dates have been posted by Best Buy. The Verge has reached out to both Western Digital and Microsoft for comment, but no further information has been received yet.

Hopefully, the information on Best Buy is correct, and not just the result of crossed wires or a typo. After all, this topic has been a point of contention among gamers and has been discussed both by users and gaming media on various platforms. So if Microsoft has indeed decided to have other manufacturers offer expandable storage cards, this will likely be a relief to Xbox users.

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Source: The Verge