External storage is not far off...

Microsoft has started rolling out the June Xbox One System Update to testers (the general release will turn up later this month) and has also confirmed a few details regarding the new external storage features that the Xbox One software will support.

It isn't all good news, but at least there's some clarification.

To start, drives of up to 16TB in size can be added. We were told that the maximum amount of storage in total would be 16TB across two devices. So you can have a 12TB drive and a 4TB, or two 8TB drives, or a 10TB and a 6TB...up to you. Of course, you'll need to wait for USB 3.0 compatible drives (only USB 3.0 will work) of that size to become readily available, but 16TB is your limit. However, it is being reported that it may be that an upper limit of 16TB per device is actually in place. Others are reporting that there is no limit. We'll confirm just as soon as we can.

On your external drive, you can install games, downloadable content, and apps. Game saves are stored in the cloud and synced to the Xbox One console, so saves will not be transportable on your external device. If you install a game to your external drive and take it to a friend's house, when you sign in to Live and fire up the game, your save will be synced to your friend's console.

Music and video playback will not be supported from external drives, initially. Microsoft is considering adding this in a future release but for now, there's nothing doing.

You will be able to move a game from the Xbox One drive to your external drive via the "Manage" page of the game. Just highlight the game in the Xbox One menu, and hit that tri-line button. Boom.

Once you format your drive for use with the Xbox One, you won't be able to access the drive from your PC. The drive will essentially become an Xbox One drive only from the point at which you format it. You can format your external drive from the Xbox One by going to Settings > System > Manage Storage.

One important note is regarding moving the drive around between consoles. If you install a game from disc to your drive and want to go and play it at a friend's house, you MUST bring the disc. Licensing of games does not change in any way because you have the external drive. What it does mean is that playing games on other Xbox One consoles is more convenient, as you won't need to install the game on every console you want to play it on. Just plug in the drive, pop in the disc, and you're done.

Are you excited to add more storage to your Xbox One? Or is it one of those "about time, Microsoft!" situations for you? Let us know in the comments.