Gears of War E Day Requires 115GB as Xbox Players Face Expensive Storage Upgrades

Gears of War: E Day will require 115GB of storage at launch, making it one of the larger Xbox releases players may need to plan around before the game arrives in October.

The 115GB requirement is listed for the base game alone, and future content could push that number higher. The developers are also planning post launch additions for Horde Mode, including new classes, missions, modifiers, seasonal content, weapon cosmetics, and character skins.

For Xbox Series X and Series S owners already short on space, that leaves two main choices: use an external drive for storage and transfers, or buy an official style expansion card that can run current generation games directly.

Storage option	Capacity	Price in supplied source	Can run Series X/S games directly?
Samsung T7 Portable SSD	1TB	$229.99	No
WD P40 Game Drive SSD	1TB	$209	No
Samsung T5 EVO Portable SSD	4TB	$559	No
SanDisk Optimus GX C50 Expansion Card	1TB	$239	Yes
WD Black C50 Expansion Card	1TB	$269	Yes
Seagate Expansion Card	2TB	$279.99	Yes

The 115GB install takes a noticeable chunk of Xbox storage

The base game alone will require 115GB.

That is roughly one tenth of the nominal capacity of a 1TB Xbox Series X, although the actual usable storage available to players is lower after system files and reserved space are taken into account.

The supplied source also warns that the game is expected to grow after launch as additional Horde Mode content and cosmetics arrive.

That means players who are already managing several large games may need to delete titles or add more storage before launch.

External SSDs are cheaper but require transfers

External drives remain one of the more flexible options.

The source lists capacities ranging from 512GB to 4TB, and these drives can also be reformatted for use with other devices.

The limitation is important: Xbox Series X and Series S games cannot be played directly from a standard USB external drive. They have to be copied back to the console’s internal SSD before playing.

That makes external drives better suited to archiving games rather than expanding immediately playable storage.

Among the options listed, the 1TB Samsung T7 is priced at $229.99, while the 1TB WD P40 is listed at $209. The larger 4TB Samsung T5 EVO costs $559.

Expansion cards are more convenient

Dedicated Xbox expansion cards offer a more seamless solution.

They plug directly into the console’s expansion slot and can run Series X and Series S games without requiring transfers.

That makes them function much more like the console’s internal SSD.

The downside is flexibility. These cards are designed specifically for Xbox consoles and cannot simply be reformatted for normal PC or general storage use.

The source lists the 1TB SanDisk Optimus GX C50 at $239, the 1TB WD Black C50 at $269, and a 2TB Seagate Expansion Card at $279.99.

The SanDisk C50 supports Quick Resume

The SanDisk Optimus GX C50 is described as one of the newer Xbox expansion card options.

It is available in capacities from 512GB to 2TB and is designed to match Xbox Velocity Architecture performance.

Because games can run directly from the card, it also supports Quick Resume, allowing players to move between supported games without losing progress.

That makes it more convenient than a USB SSD for anyone who frequently switches between several large games.

Waiting for sales could save money

The supplied article suggests that waiting for larger sales events may be worthwhile because many storage products currently cost hundreds of dollars.

At the same time, it notes that expansion cards can become harder to find when demand rises, which creates a tradeoff between waiting for lower prices and buying before stock becomes limited.

For players who already have enough free internal storage, there is no immediate need to buy an expansion.

For those regularly managing several large Xbox releases, E Day’s 115GB requirement may be another reason to consider one.

Gears of War E Day launches in October

Gears of War: E Day is scheduled to launch on October 6, 2026, for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Players with early access through eligible preorders can begin playing on October 1.

The game also supports Xbox Play Anywhere and will be available through Xbox Game Pass.

With the base installation already requiring 115GB and more content planned after launch, storage management may become one of the practical issues Xbox players need to solve before returning to the Gears universe.