The PS5 (review) comes with a mere 825GB of storage of which 667GB is available to store games. If you install a handful of games, you will easily run out of storage. While the PS5 has an M.2 slot for expandable storage, it is currently inactive. Information circulating the internet suggested Sony would unlock the M.2 drive in the summer of 2021, but there is no official word on the same.
However, there is some good news for those that want to back up their PS5 games to an external drive – now you can. Sony has taken to the PlayStation Blog to announce the feature. The PlayStation Blog reads, “With this feature, you can now transfer your PS5 games to USB extended storage from your console’s internal storage. It’s a great way to extend the storage capabilities of your PS5 console, and you can seamlessly copy your PS5 games back to the console’s internal storage when you’re ready to play. It is faster to reinstall PS5 games from USB extended storage than to re-download or copy them from a disc”.
The blog goes on to say, “Because PS5 games are designed to take advantage of the console’s ultra-high-speed SSD, PS5 titles can’t be played from USB extended storage. PS5 titles also cannot be directly downloaded to USB extended storage. However, games that you transfer or copy back to internal storage will automatically update when applicable. In addition, you can select which game modes you want to install (such as campaign or multiplayer) for select titles that support the option”.
This means that while you can backup games to an external hard drive, you cannot download the updates to those games unless you transfer the game back to the internal SSD. You also cannot play the games directly from the USB drive.
A USB 3 hard drive with a minimum of 250GB, 8 TB maximum capacity can be used as external storage on the PS5. While PS5 games can only be backed up on an external drive, PS4 games can be downloaded directly to an external drive and played from there. This feature has been available on the PS5 since launch.
The PS5 launched in India back in February 2021 and the console has been out of stock after its first batch sold out in a matter of seconds. Rumours circulating the internet suggest an April PS5 restock for India, but there is no information available about when the console will be back in stock.
If you are one of the fortunate few that has a PS5, then you can check out our list of games releasing in April worth checking out for the console here.