What's the difference between the old and new Seagate Game Drive for Xbox?

In 2021, Seagate released a new version of the Xbox Game Drive. So, how does it stack up against the original?

You can find out in this comparison guide between these two external hard disk drives.

Quick Summary

When compared to the older Xbox Game Drive, the new version adds a built-in LED bar that will display the Xbox green mood lighting.

On the other hand, the old version is the only one out of these two products to offer a 5 TB capacity option.

In terms of compatibility, both products support the Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.

New vs. Old Seagate Game Drive for Xbox Comparison Chart

You can take a look at Seeking Tech’s comparison table for the new and old versions of the Xbox Game Drive below.

	New Seagate Game Drive for Xbox	Old Seagate Game Drive for Xbox
What’s in the Box	New Game Drive for Xbox 18-inch (45.72cm) USB 3.0 cable Rescue Data Recovery Services Quick start guide	Old Game Drive for Xbox 18-inch (45.72cm) USB 3.0 cable Rescue Data Recovery Services Quick start guide
Capacity Options	2 TB 4 TB	2 TB 4 TB 5 TB
Dimensions	2 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 4.823 in x 3.15 in x 0.571 in (or 122.5 mm x 80 mm x 14.5 mm) 4 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 4.823 in x 3.189 in x 0.846 in (or 122.5 mm x 81 mm x 21.5 mm)	2 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 4.606 in x 3.15 in x 0.583 in (or 117 mm x 80 mm x 14.8 mm) 4 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 4.606 in x 3.15 in x 0.819 in (or 117 mm x 80 mm x 20.8 mm) 5 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 4.606 in x 3.15 in x 0.819 in (or 117 mm x 80 mm x 20.8 mm)
Weight	2 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 0.368 lb. (or 0.167 kg) 4 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 0.586 lb. (or 0.266 kg)	2 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 0.373 lb. (or 0.169 kg) 4 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 0.529 lb. (or 0.24 kg) 5 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 0.529 lb. (or 0.24 kg)
USB Interface	USB 3.2 Gen 1	USB 3.2 Gen 1
Game Storage	2 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 50+ games 4 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 100+ games	2 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 50+ games 4 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 100+ games 5 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 125+ games
Xbox System Compatibility	Xbox One Xbox One S Xbox One X Xbox Series S Xbox Series X	Xbox One Xbox One S Xbox One X Xbox Series S Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X Support	Store Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X games Store backwards compatible Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games Play backwards compatible Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games	Store Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X games Store backwards compatible Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games Play backwards compatible Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games
Built-in LED Bar?	Yes	No
Built-in LED Bar	1-year warranty	1-year warranty
Pricing	Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned)	Check price on Amazon.(#CommissionsEarned)

What’s in the Box

You can check out the content included inside each new retail box for both of these external storage products below:

New Xbox Seagate Game Drive:

New Game Drive for Xbox
18-inch (45.72cm) USB 3.0 cable
Rescue Data Recovery Services
Quick start guide

Old Xbox Seagate Game Drive:

Old Game Drive for Xbox
18-inch (45.72cm) USB 3.0 cable
Rescue Data Recovery Services
Quick start guide

Capacity Options

When it comes to available capacities, the older version of the Xbox Game Drive offers a 5 TB option while the new version doesn’t.

You can find a breakdown of the available options below:

New Xbox Seagate Game Drive:

2 TB
4 TB

Old Xbox Seagate Game Drive:

2 TB
4 TB
5 TB

Dimensions

When you compare the same capacity options, the new 2 TB HDD is longer while the older 2 TB HDD is slightly thicker.

The newer 4 TB HDD is all around bigger than the older 4TB HDD.

You can find the exact measurements below:

2 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 4.823 in x 3.15 in x 0.571 in (or 122.5 mm x 80 mm x 14.5 mm)
4 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 4.823 in x 3.189 in x 0.846 in (or 122.5 mm x 81 mm x 21.5 mm)

2 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 4.606 in x 3.15 in x 0.583 in (or 117 mm x 80 mm x 14.8 mm)
4 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 4.606 in x 3.15 in x 0.819 in (or 117 mm x 80 mm x 20.8 mm)
5 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 4.606 in x 3.15 in x 0.819 in (or 117 mm x 80 mm x 20.8 mm)

Weight

The new Xbox Game Drive is also heavier than the original model.

You can find the weight specifications below:

2 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 0.368 lb. (or 0.167 kg)
4 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 0.586 lb. (or 0.266 kg)

2 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 0.373 lb. (or 0.169 kg)
4 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 0.529 lb. (or 0.24 kg)
5 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 0.529 lb. (or 0.24 kg)

USB Interface

Both the new and old Xbox Game Drives use the USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface.

Game Storage

When comparing the same capacities, you should be able to store the same number of games with the new and old models of the Xbox game drives.

You can find the estimated number of games that can be stored for each capacity below:

2 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 50+ games
4 TB New Xbox Game Drive: 100+ games

2 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 50+ games
4 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 100+ games
5 TB Old Xbox Game Drive: 125+ games

The aforementioned numbers are based on the average game size being between 35 GB to 50 GB.

Xbox System Compatibility

The new and old versions of the Seagate Game Drive for Xbox can be used with the Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.

Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X Support

When it comes to support for Microsoft newest console, you can store Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X games in addition to backwards compatible Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One games on both Game Drives.

You can also play backwards compatible Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One directly of these external storages.

To play Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X games, you will need to use the internal solid state drive of your console or the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S.

Built-in LED Bar

With the new model, Seagate added a built-in LED bar that will display the iconic Xbox green glow.

Warranty

The New Seagate Game Drive for Xbox and Old Seagate Game Drive for Xbox each comes with a 1-year warranty.

Resources: