While everyone is rightfully excited to get a new Xbox Series X, the box comes with one big caveat: its 1TB SSD only has 802GB of usable storage on it.
This is significant for many reasons, most notably that next-gen game sizes are bound to be huge. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is over 100GB by itself. If you want Warzone installed too, that’s another 100 GB.
Now, take into account all of those Game Pass titles you’ll want to download. Here’s hoping you have fast, unlimited internet speeds because you’ll have a tough time fitting them all. Of course, these increased sizes are due to various next-gen features like 4K textures, but that doesn’t make them any more bearable.
When the PlayStation 4 launched with 500GB, about 407GB of that was usable for games . However, games this generation average 50-60GB with some exceptions for larger titles. Have an Xbox One X or PlayStation 4 Pro? You’ve got 1TB to play around with.
That isn’t going to fly next-generation, with both bigger game sizes and the appeal of Game Pass. Your hard drive is bound to fill up fast. Get ready for the constant deletion and re-installing of various titles.
Sure, external storage is a solution, but are you willing to spend $220 for an SSD on top of your new console purchase? Now that’s an expensive next-gen upgrade, and one I don’t expect many gamers to delve into right away.
Fortunately, on the Xbox Series S, game sizes will be around 30% smaller . However, that isn’t a complete positive. After all, this cheaper Xbox model only has a 512GB SSD.
Here’s hoping next-gen compression can work some miracles.