Microsoft’s new subscription service for the Xbox One console, Xbox Game Pass, has officially opened its doors to all Xbox One owners. To celebrate the event, Seagate will soon serve up a special bundle supporting the 100-plus titles Xbox One owners will be downloading to their consoles starting June 1.
Called the Seagate Game Drive for Xbox Game Pass Special Edition, the external hard drive(s) will be sold in 2TB and 4TB storage capacities. They will sport a white, rounded form factor with black Xbox and Seagate logos stamped on top, and connect to the Xbox One (or Xbox 360) using a single USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A port: no additional power adapter will be required.
In addition to the white exterior, the drives will also come with a special bonus: a free one-month Xbox Game Pass subscription for the 2TB unit, and a two-month free subscription for the 4TB unit. That’s a $10 and $20 savings, respectively.
Seagate already sells three Game Drive external drives for the current consoles: the Game Drive for Xbox SSD (512GB), the Game Drive for Xbox HDD (2TB and 4TB), and the Game Drive for PlayStation (1TB and 2TB). However, just as it did during the Halo Wars 2 launch, Seagate is now offering special editions of its current two (and green) Game Drive for Xbox HDD models for the Xbox Game Pass premiere.
Unfortunately, the hardware specifications of both are scarce, but one product page states a performance of up to 140MB per second. The 2TB model is slightly thinner, measuring 0.58 inches in width while the 4TB model is 0.81 inches wide. Both are prime candidates for your pocket, and are quickly recognized by any Xbox One console once they’re connected.
“Super compact and designed for Xbox, gamers can take their favorite games and the hottest titles from the Xbox Game Pass catalog along with them — wherever,” Seagate said in a statement. “Simply unplug the Seagate Game Drive for Xbox and take an entire game library to a friend’s house,”
Unlike Sony’s PlayStation Now game-streaming subscription, Microsoft’s new Xbox Game Pass is a Netflix-type service, only subscribers aren’t streaming games directly to the console. Instead, games are downloaded and installed just like any other title offered on Xbox One. Microsoft plans to rotate games, too, just like Netflix, to keep the library fresh.
The subscription itself costs $10 per month, but if customers fall madly in love with a game before it’s shuffled off the subscription, they will have the option to purchase the game at a 20-percent discount, and all associated add-ons for a 10-percent discount. The service includes titles for the Xbox One console as well as the Xbox 360.
To start your free 14-day trial, head here. As for Seagate’s special edition external drives, both will be available this month via “select” Seagate retailers. The 4TB model will cost $130 and the 2TB model will cost $90. Remember, the average game weighs between 35GB and 50GB, so the extra storage space will definitely come in handy.
