Xbox is conducting beta tests for support of large external storage capacities.
How many video games would be needed to exceed 16 TB?
A new beta software has begun rolling out today for Insiders in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring of Xbox, providing Series X and S systems with the ability to support higher-capacity external hard drives. Previously, the console could only handle up to 16TB of space on a single USB-connected hard drive.
With the recent update, Xbox systems now allow the partitioning of hard drives exceeding 16TB into segments, maximizing the available physical storage space. For example, a 24TB hard drive can be formatted into multiple partitions, with the largest still being 16TB, making it easier to archive more games, applications, and media than ever before.
However, those who have already used a hard drive exceeding 16TB will need to wipe it before benefiting from this new functionality. For hard drives larger than 16TB that have already been formatted, they will not be affected by the change, but they will need to be reformatted to access the updated support for larger drives.
Although current-generation titles still cannot be played directly from an external hard drive, this feature is useful for backing up all installations, as well as games from previous systems. This way, there will be no need to re-download large titles, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which exceeds 300GB, when you wish to play it again after some time, unless they require a significant update.
Additionally, Xbox is releasing another update that will introduce new network quality indicators for cloud gaming sessions, informing players if the connection is slow and may be affecting the gaming experience. These indicators will appear in red bubbles in the upper right corner of the screen and will display situations such as packet loss or increased ping, facilitating connection troubleshooting.
