The Xbox Series X comes with an internal 1TB SSD, but space will be at a premium from the outset it seems.
It turns out that once the OS and system files have been installed, users will only have 802GB of usable space (thanks, IGN). That means 198GB is gone straight out the gate. Ouch.
This isn’t exactly surprising news – you never get access to every single gigabyte of storage when purchasing memory – but the sheer space that needs to be reserved is certainly worth noting, particularly if the same proves true on the Xbox Series S.
Microsoft’s more affordable next-gen console comes with 512GB of storage, so if 198GB were to be reserved, users would only have access to 314GB. Xbox Series S games are due to be 30% smaller than their Xbox Series X equivalents, though, so it's not as bleak as it first looks.
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Microsoft recently announced that its 1TB Expansion Storage Card from Seagate will launch alongside the two next-gen consoles on November 10 and costs $220 / £220. The memory card-style device comes with 920GB of usable capacity, though, so you're getting a decent chunk of storage for your money.
Games can also be stored on a regular USB 3.1 external hard drive, which are considerably cheaper, especially for higher capacities. If you want to take advantage of the super-fast SSD in the Xbox Series X and S, though, you'll have to store games on the internal drive or 1TB Expansion Storage Card. The same is true of games that are optimized for next-gen.
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So what does this mean for the PS5? Sony’s standard and Digital Edition console come with 825GB of storage, and there’s no expandable solution at launch other than storing games on an external hard drive in the same fashion as on Xbox. If the system’s OS and system files take up a similar amount of space, users could be left to manage just 627GB, which is 175GB less than Xbox Series X.
We already know the size of two PS5 games, too: Spider-Man Miles Morales and Demon's Souls, which weigh in at 50GB and 66GB respectively. The Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Launch Edition, which is one of the ways to access the remaster of Spider-Man PS4, is 105GB.
With Demon's Souls and the Spider-Man Miles Morales Ultimate Launch Edition installed, then, PS5 owners will only have 456GB left to play with. When you consider that both the Xbox Series X and PS5 cost $499 / £449 / AU$749, it's clear that Xbox owners are getting more storage for their money, albeit not by much.
Looking for a new console? Find out how you can buy PS5, where to buy Xbox Series X and check out that low low Xbox Series S price.
