The ability of SSD expansion built into the PlayStation 5 was unveiled almost a year ago by System Architect Mark Cerny. Sony, in fact, did add an NVMe M.2 port for this specific purpose, but when the console launched in November, we learned that it would not be active for the time being; a later firmware update would actually enable the SSD expansion. Right now, if you try to insert an NVMe SSD through the M.2 port, the PlayStation 5 doesn't boot anymore. Of course, technically you can also connect a USB hard drive in order to exploit additional storage capacity, but that only works for PS4 games working through backward compatibility.
A new report published today by the Japanese version of Bloomberg suggests that update is on its way and scheduled to hit at some point this Summer. The same firmware update should also 'improve the rotation speed' of the console's cooling fan. This will be needed to avoid any potential overheating issues once users add an extra SSD into the console.
Still, the SSD expansion will definitely be the highlight of that upcoming PS5 update. Storage capacity is becoming a huge issue due to some games such as Call of Duty Warzone/Modern Warfare/Black Ops Cold War. Just this week, Activision warned PS4 users that they might have to 'make room' in order to keep these games installed and up to date.
PlayStation 4 Players: File Size and Making Space
Those who own a standard PlayStation 4 with a default hard drive of 500 GB may need to make room if they have the full versions of Modern Warfare®/Warzone and Black Ops Cold War with all modes and packs installed.
Should you have both games installed and have kept up to date with updates, you may need to delete some unused Game Content to have a successful download and install of the Warzone patch tonight.
The PS5 doesn't have much more available space by default (667GB versus PS4's 407GB).
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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