Skip to main content

Get the bigger box. Today’s games will fill the Xbox Series S too fast

Reviews are here for the next generation of Xbox, clarifying some important questions about Microsoft’s new consoles. While the Xbox Series S seems like a steal at its $300 price point, a new revelation about its limited storage space weakens the value.

The console features 512GB of total storage space, but it turns out that only 364GB can actually be used for games and applications. That number is especially tiny considering that Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War takes up a whopping 136GB, over one-third of the console’s usable space.

When deciding whether to buy a Series S or Series X, that detail plays a crucial role in the price difference. With game sizes that large, most players will need to shell out a little extra if they want to have more than two or three games on the console at a time. That’s where the price advantage gets complicated.

Players looking to upgrade can use an external hard drive, including Microsoft’s own 1TB SSD that’s built for its new generation of consoles. That will run Series S owners an extra $220, bringing the total investment up past the $500 Xbox Series X.

Xbox Series S
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There’s little reason to believe that the problem won’t balloon as time goes on. Look at the evolution of the Call of Duty franchise throughout the current console cycle. Call of Duty: Ghosts was the first game in the franchise to launch on Xbox One, taking up 40G of space on the console. Compare that number to Black Ops Cold War, which arrived seven years later and requires 93GB on the console. Those numbers don’t take extra DLC content into account either, meaning that the size will only grow.

If Black Ops Cold War is already 136GB on the Series S, it’s reasonable to believe that a new Call of Duty game could take up half of the console’s storage within a few years. Microsoft is trying to mitigate that by allowing users to uninstall parts of games or giving developers the option to deliver scaled-down versions on the console, but at that point the Series S starts to fall further and further behind its pricier counterpart.

That begs the question, what kind of player actually benefits from buying the Series S? People who tend to play one game at a time and never revisit it are the main target, though the console’s lack of a disc drive isn’t friendly toward anyone who trades in games once they’re finished with them. It’s still a potential value for the kind of gamer who only plays a handful of long-tailed games, so long as they account for how much larger live service games tend to grow over time. Destiny 2 eventually crossed the 150GB before Bungie decided to cut the game in half for the upcoming Beyond Light expansion.

At the moment, the Xbox Series S is feeling like a temporary stopgap with little future-proofing. It might seem to be an enticing value next to the Series X and PlayStation 5’s $500 price tag, but players are going to spend that money one way or another. Those who can afford the difference might want to consider upgrading early to cut out the middle man.

Editors' Recommendations

Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
The best Xbox Series X games for 2023
Key art for Starfield

After an uneven console cycle with the Xbox One, Microsoft's latest consoles are aimed at getting the ship back on course. The Xbox Series X is a next-generation powerhouse that rivals gaming PCs, while the Xbox Series S is an affordable stopgap for those who are curious about trying new games.

There's no shortage of games to play on either console thanks to Xbox Game Pass, which gives players immediate access to a library of titles old and new. That built-in catalog is an extra value on top of all the new games available on the system that take advantage of its impressive technical specs. When it comes to first-party exclusives, the Series X is still growing. Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 gave a good boost to the console's library following a somewhat sparse first year. More games are also on the way. Microsoft's Bethesda acquisition will bring exclusives like Starfield and the potential addition of all Activision Blizzard games would further bolster that list, but the console's real strength lies in third-party support.

Read more
The best games on Xbox Game Pass for right now (September 2023)

As the Xbox Game Pass program has grown, so has our list of the best games on Xbox Game Pass. After the launch of the Xbox Series X, Microsoft has doubled down on Game Pass, now offering well over 350 games on the console alone. To help you through option paralysis, we rounded up the top games on Microsoft's subscription platform.

Many titles are available across Xbox and PC, and some of them even have cross-save support. Most of the games are available for streaming on mobile too, as long as you have Game Pass Ultimate. The Game Pass library is also constantly changing, so check out our monthly guide for addition and removal announcements.

Read more
Xbox’s Phil Spencer responds to blockbuster leak: ‘So much has changed’
Xbox Series X on a table.

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has finally commented on the massive Xbox leak that happened earlier today. In his public statement, he explained that "so much has changed" since many of the documents were created and asked fans to be excited about Xbox's future.
On Tuesday morning, unredacted versions of a lot of documents pertaining to the Xbox vs. FTC trial appeared. These emails and documents, most of which were created or written sometime between 2020 and 2022, revealed a lot of unannounced information. That included things like a mid-gen refresh for the Xbox Series X and S, some unannounced Bethesda games, and even Microsoft's early goals for its next-generation console. Hours later, Spencer commented on the leak.
"We've seen the conversation around old emails and documents," Spencer explained on X (formerly known as Twitter). "It is hard to see our team's work shared in this way because so much has changed and there's so much to be excited about right now, and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready."
https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1704233222752571842
At first, people didn't know where the leak came from, with the FTC quickly denying that it leaked these things. Ultimately, United States District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley revealed that Microsoft had done it to itself while trying to provide the court with a secure cloud link to relevant exhibits for the trial. The Verge went on to report that Phil Spencer also sent out a memo internally about the leaks today, echoing the statements in his tweet.
"Today, several documents submitted in the court proceedings related to our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard were unintentionally disclosed. I know this is disappointing, even if many of the documents are well over a year old and our plans have evolved," Spencer's memo reads. "I also know we all take the confidentiality of our plans and our partners’ information very seriously. This leak obviously is not us living up to that expectation. We will learn from what happened and be better going forward. We all put incredible amounts of passion and energy into our work, and this is never how we want that hard work to be shared with the community. That said, there’s so much more to be excited about, and when we’re ready, we’ll share the real plans with our players. In closing, I appreciate all of the work that you pour into Team Xbox to surprise and delight our players."
The fact that Microsoft did this to itself is an embarrassing accident, especially when some of the information contained within the documents and emails is no longer accurate. For now, all we can do is wait and see if Microsoft will actually release new versions of its Xbox Series X and S consoles next year and if games like Doom Year Zero, a sequel to Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Dishonored 3 get announced.

Read more