Anyone purchasing a PS5 today is limited to the 825GB of internal storage Sony’s console ships with, and only 667GB of that is free to use. Adding more storage requires installing an SSD in the provided expansion port, but Sony hasn’t enabled yet. That changes this summer, though.
As Bloomberg reports, Sony is expected to release a firmware update for the PS5 at some point during the summer which will unlock the storage expansion port. However, that’s only half the problem solved. An M.2 SSD is required for use in the port, and we don’t yet know which M.2 drives are fast enough to be compatible. We may end up in a situation where a PS5 can have its storage upgraded, but there’s no SSDs on the market fast enough to fill it. Or just as likely, of the SSDs that are fast enough, supply can’t keep up with demand.
The planned firmware is also expected to allow the PS5’s internal fans to spin faster. Cooling is key to the reliable operation of the console, and adding a hot M.2 SSD means the PS5 will need to pump out the hot air faster to keep temperatures under control.
When PS5-compatible SSDs do appear, don’t expect them to be cheap. They will need to be PCIe Gen4 drives, which typically cost between $150-$200 for 1TB of storage. For comparison, a 1TB Seagate Storage Expansion Card for the Xbox Series X currently costs $215.
