Microsoft adding support for up to 4TB storage to Xbox 360

By Kris Wouk April 10, 2015

XBox 4 Terabyte Upgrade — Image used with permission by copyright holder

While the spotlight is on its newer console, Microsoft is making sure that those hanging on to their (maybe not so) trusty Xbox 360s aren’t left in the cold. An update to be released later this year will increase the allowed size of external hard drives by a significant margin.

In March, Microsoft announced that the Preview Program that Xbox One owners were already well familiar with was also coming to the Xbox 360. As with the Xbox One, 360 owners would sign up directly from the console for the chance to test new system updates before everyone else.

Support for larger external storage was one of the most frequently requested features, writes Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb, a.k.a. Major Nelson. Currently the maximum size for an external hard drive supported by the Xbox 360 is 32GB, though users can use two drives for a total of 64GB.

Microsoft is preparing an update that will massively increase the available storage, supporting two hard drives up to 2TB in size each for a total of 4TB. Additionally, while users are currently required to reserve space on hard drives for Xbox 360 games, that requirement is being removed. “If you are using 16GB of hard drive space for games – we will only take 16GB of space. And just like today – you will be able to use two external drives at a time,” Hryb writes.

Considering how late we are in the Xbox 360’s life-cycle, it’s easy to wonder why Microsoft would continue adding new features to the aging console. Older games that haven’t been remastered for the Xbox One are one obvious reason, but the Xbox 360 also works well as a media center, and this new update makes the console even better-suited to that purpose.

The update is available to members of the Preview Program right now, though there are some things to be aware of, such as that certain hard drives may not be supported.

The update will arrive for everyone sometime later this year.

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Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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