Xbox Series X freezes/crashes only on big games (GTA 5, FIFA) – small games work fine

Hi everyone,

I’m having a really strange issue with my Xbox Series X and I’m trying to understand if this is a known hardware problem.

Symptoms:

• Console menu is smooth, no lag

• Fan noise and temperature seem normal

• Small / indie games run without any issues

• Big games like GTA 5 and FIFA always crash or freeze while launching

What I’ve tried so far:

• Full power cycle (unplugged for 15+ minutes)

• Quit Quick Resume properly

• Deleted and reinstalled GTA 5 and FIFA multiple times (digital versions)

• Factory reset (both “keep games” and “remove everything”)

• Made sure there is plenty of free storage space

• No external USB SSD/HDD connected

None of these fixed the issue.

The behavior is always the same: small games launch, big AAA games crash.

From what I understand, this feels like a failing internal SSD with bad blocks, where large games hit problematic areas while small games don’t.

Questions:

• Has anyone experienced something similar?

• Did using the official Expansion Card (Seagate / WD) solve it?

• Is this a known Series X internal SSD failure pattern?

Any insight before I send it to service would be really appreciated.

Thanks!