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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Multiple game teams are reportedly interested in a bespoke technique The Coalition developed for Gears of War: E-Day: keeping selected data on the Xbox Series S SSD and moving it into system memory when needed. The approach is intended to ease pressure on the console’s limited memory, but the available report does not confirm that any other studio has adopted it.
How the SSD-backed memory technique works
Pure Xbox’s 2026 report, relaying Digital Foundry’s explanation, describes a system developed by The Coalition in collaboration with Xbox’s platform team and Advanced Technology Group. Selected data that is not currently needed can stay on the SSD; data required for the current moment is brought into system RAM.
The report compares the idea to paged virtual memory, with an important distinction: the team selects particular data subsets it considers suitable for this treatment. It is not a claim that the SSD simply becomes RAM. The technique uses storage as an additional tier for carefully chosen data, and the report says the game’s environmental density would not have been possible on Series S without it. Pure Xbox’s account of Digital Foundry’s explanation
What the report says it trades
Pure Xbox reports that Xbox Series S has 10GB of GDDR6. In Digital Foundry’s figures as relayed by Pure Xbox, the bespoke system uses a couple of gigabytes of SSD storage to provide about one gigabyte of additional usable system memory. Those are approximate reported figures, not independently verified measurements here.
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The trade-off is not free: the report says overusing the technique can reduce performance, but does not quantify the penalty or describe a detailed test. Developers therefore have to choose what can safely remain on disk and tune when it is fetched into RAM.
What it means for Gears of War: E-Day
The report says The Coalition retained a 60FPS gameplay target for Gears of War: E-Day and removed Lumen reflections as the major feature concession. A target is not a verified frame-rate result or a guarantee of performance in the finished game. The reported compromise illustrates that the memory technique did not eliminate the need to make visual and performance trade-offs.
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- Memory: 10GB GDDR6 128 bit-wide bus; Memory Bandwidth: 8GB @ 224 GB/s, 2GB @ 56 GB/s.; Internal Storage: 512GB Custom NVME SSD
- Gaming Resolution: 1440p; Performance Target: Up to 120 FP.
- HDMI Features: Auto Low Latency Mode, HDMI Variable Refresh Rate, AMD FreeSync.
Are other studios using it?
Pure Xbox relays that other game teams are interested, but the report does not name them or confirm implementation. Interest alone does not establish that the system is available to third-party developers, released as an SDK, or portable to other games or consoles. The evidence supports a bespoke implementation for E-Day, not a general Xbox feature.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the approach could matter beyond asset streaming
Fast storage is commonly associated with loading or streaming game assets. The reported approach points to a different potential use: letting selected data remain on storage can reduce competition for scarce RAM. Whether that helps another game depends on its data, performance needs, and how much of that data can tolerate being fetched from the SSD; the report provides no comparative results for other optimization methods.
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- What's in the box: Xbox Series S 512GB console, 1 Wireless Controller, High Speed HDMI cable.
- CPU: 8X Cores @ 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz w/SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU; GPU: 4 TFLOPS, 20 CUs @1.565 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU; SOC Die Size: 197.05 mm2.
- Memory: 10GB GDDR6 128 bit-wide bus; Memory Bandwidth: 8GB @ 224 GB/s, 2GB @ 56 GB/s.; Internal Storage: 512GB Custom NVME SSD
- Gaming Resolution: 1440p; Performance Target: Up to 120 FPS; HDMI Features: Auto Low Latency Mode, HDMI Variable Refresh Rate, AMD FreeSync.
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