The PlayStation 5 will support the upgrade of internal storage from this summer, Bloomberg reported on Friday. This is welcome news for players who have to deal with the size of the AAA games and the storage requirements.
Bloomberg quoted unnamed sources as being informed about Sony’s plans. This is an important step, as external storage on the PS5 can only be used for PlayStation 4 games; PS5 games should be used on the internal disk of the new console. About 667 GB of it is actually available to store games, programs, recordings and other content.
Bloomberg said that after the firmware update, players can simply remove the cover of the PS5 and install a new disk (of course compatible with the console hardware). A Sony spokesman told Bloomberg that the company “is working on enabling M.2 SSD expansion for PlayStation 5”, but that he has no further details to share.
The Xbox Series X has a 1 TB internal SSD; the PlayStation 5s are a custom 825 GB SSD. Xbox Series X (and Series S) owners may not be able to upgrade their internal storage, but they have more options than a PS5 owner currently does.
An external USB 3.1 drive can be used to play Xbox One and older games on a Series X, and Xbox One games optimized for Series X can be installed on and work from the external drive. But original Xbox Series X games can only work from the internal SSD; they can be moved to unusable ‘cold room’ on an external disk to free up space. There’s also an external SSD memory card for Xbox Series X that adds another terabyte of storage and fully supports the latest games; however, it is $ 219.99.
The PlayStation 5 does not have any of these options. If a game is developed or optimized for PS5, it must be installed on the internal SSD. There is also no ‘cold room’ option. And there is no own external memory card or stick at any cost.
The Bloomberg report also noted that the firmware update that makes the storage expansion possible will also unlock higher speeds for the PS5’s cooling fan. Overall, the PS5 was a quieter machine than the PS4, but it’s clear that better airflow is needed to prevent the unit from getting into trouble.