One of the PS5’s few deficiencies compared to the Xbox Series X is your smallest built-in storage. However, based on a new report, it appears that Sony is working to resolve this by adding support for the PS5’s SSD expansion bay later this summer.
According to a source who spoke with Bloomberg, support for using the PS5’s M.2 SSD expansion slot will come after a firmware update that will allow the fastest fan speeds needed to help prevent overheating of the console. Since its announcement, Sony has made it clear that at some point PS5 owners would be able to update their consoles with a second M.2 SSD using the PS5 expansion slot, which is located in a slot behind the removable plastic housing of the PS5.
Unfortunately, Sony has yet to provide a list of compatible drives approved to work on the PS5 or even an official timeline of when expandable storage will be available. This means that, for now, PS5 owners are stuck with the PS67’s 667 GB of basic storage, which is more than 200 GB less than the 885 GB SSD drive that comes in an Xbox Series X.
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And while the PS5 technically supports external storage via a connected USB drive, only less demanding PS4 games can be played directly from an external drive. Currently, PS5 games must be installed on the console’s internal drive before they can be played, which significantly reduces the value of external storage and makes storing and transferring games between internal and external storage somewhat cumbersome.
And with games like Call to action growing more and more thanks to the high resolution texture packs and DLC to the point where Activision is even warning PS4 owners they may need to delete data to make the game fit, there is a big advantage to having a lot of fast internal storage.
However, with the retail availability of the PS5 still quite limited three months after its launch, Sony is probably more concerned with continuing to increase production than in future firmware updates.