As part of the Xbox Games Showcase 2023, Microsoft has answered the prayers of Xbox Series S gamers wanting more storage space without having to shell out for an expensive external hard drive. A new model of the console with a carbon black casing and 1TB SSD will be coming out later this year.
During its announcement trailer, Microsoft reveals the Xbox Series S – Carbon Black 1TB SSD model, all while trippy space images play out in the background, likening the device to the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey for some reason. Aside from the altered colour scheme and expanded internal storage, this model has all the same features in terms of power and lack of disc drive that the base model Xbox Series S console has.
Despite the lack of bells and whistles, this is a feature that a lot of gamers will probably get a lot of use out of. As modern console games balloon in storage space, the base model console’s tiny 512GB SSD ends up filled to capacity rather quickly. The solution for many has either been to purchase expensive external hard drives to offload the storage space, utilise Xbox Cloud Gaming a lot or just shell out for the Xbox Series X and its expanded internal SSD. The Xbox Series S – 1TB SSD model is already available for preorder in the US for $349.99 USD, which puts it at not terribly higher than the current 512GB Xbox Series S model’s RRP.
It probably won’t be enough new features to coax existing Xbox Series S owners to trade in their systems for this upgrade. However, additional storage is certainly a useful improvement that many looking to buy their first current-gen Xbox console will take into consideration. The Xbox Series S 1TB SSD console is set to release on the 1st of September 2023.