Managing storage space has been a nightmare for many PlayStation users. Modern games can take up plenty of precious space on players’ hard drives, so picking which ones get to stay can be a difficult task.
This was especially true when the PlayStation 5 released this fall, offering only 667 GB of usable space on its SSD. Some of the most popular games, like Call of Duty: Warzone , can take up more 100 GB of space on the system.
PlayStation detailed upgradeable storage space for the PlayStation 5’s SSD in its teardown video last October. The feature wasn’t available at launch, leaving users eagerly awaiting the ability to insert more storage into their consoles.
It appears that PlayStation 5 owners won’t have to wait too much longer, as Sony employees confirmed the feature to be implemented very soon.
INCREASED STORAGE SPACE COMING TO PLAYSTATION 5
Internal storage upgrades for the PlayStation 5 are heading to the console this summer, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report notes that a firmware update "also unlocks higher cooling-fan speeds to ensure the console doesn’t overheat" once the new storage is added.
The PlayStation 5’s current SSD is sized at 825 GB, but it only offers about 667 GB of usable storage space. The upgrade will allow users to install an additional SSD to the console to bolster its storage capacity.
Because this information is based on unreleased plans, no first or third-party SSD drives have been announced by Sony.
MORE STORAGE SPACE FOR BIGGER GAMES
The PlayStation 4 generation made buying games digitally much more feasible than previous console generations. As players began to download more games directly to their consoles, their hard drives quickly filled up, creating a delicate balancing act for which games to keep downloaded on the system.
The issue of limited storage space quickly found its place on the PlayStation 5. As Bloomberg noted in its report , games like Call of Duty need over 100 GB of space to install on the console. It’s incredibly easy to fill up the SSD on PlayStation’s new console, so allowing for storage upgrades will ease players’ fears of having to delete their beloved games.
Because PlayStation 5 utilizes an SSD, the expansion SSDs will likely be expensive. The 1 TB Seagate Storage Expansion Card costs $220 for the Xbox Series X, which also uses an SSD. PlayStation players will likely have to pay similar costs to expand their small storage capacities.
It’s somewhat odd that this feature wasn’t implemented at launch. After all, users were able to upgrade the PlayStation 4’s hard drive on release day. It’s especially weird considering PlayStation noted that the SSD would be expandable in its teardown video of the PlayStation 5 a month before release.
Perhaps the company needed more time to iron out any kinks before allowing upgrades for the newly implemented SSD.
PLAYSTATION Writer