Reportedly, sources familiar with Sony’s plans claim the hardware manufacturer will enable PlayStation 5 users to expand the system’s internal storage starting this summer; in addition, a firmware update will open the door for higher cooling fan speeds. An expandable storage solution no doubt ranks high on many a PS5 owner’s wishlist, given the system itself has a 1TB solid-state drive (SSD) that only packs in approximately 667GB of available storage for media apps and games.
In the days leading up to the console’s launch in mid-November, Sony confirmed SSD storage expansion wouldn’t be available day one. Of course, this news wasn’t well met by soon-to-be PS5 owners, especially when titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War demanded about 140GB of available space out of the box. That the company has remained silent about the matter for the last several months only exacerbates the issue. Players have no clue when the storage space will be available for use, despite the fact that a rush of games is launching in the coming months. And many of those titles are bound to require hefty amounts of free storage space.
Fortunately, it seems a solution is on the horizon; unfortunately, said solution may not arrive for a while. Bloomberg reports that sources familiar with Sony's operations claim the company will lift the bottleneck on SSD storage space this summer. At that time, PS5 owners will have the option to purchase and install an internal SSD on their system. Sources speaking to Bloomberg additionally divulged the company's plan to launch a firmware update that increases cooling fan speeds, which should further reduce the chances of overheating. Upon being probed for specifics, a Sony spokesperson told the publication: "As previously announced, we are working to enable M.2 SSD storage expansion for PlayStation 5. The timing has not been announced and details will be shared later."
The hardware manufacturer itself has yet to corroborate the above details; thus, there still exists an air of mystery around internal SSD storage. For instance, as of now, Sony remains mum about which SSDs will be compatible with the hardware, effectively preventing PlayStation 5 owners from shopping for the incredibly pricey technology whenever the occasional discount goes live.
Regardless of what Sony has in store, the update for SSD storage can't come soon enough. Again, a slew of big name releases is on track to arrive in the coming months; May seems especially packed with the likes of Resident Evil Village, Deathloop, and many, many more. While storage space may not be a problem for most console owners, large install sizes and even larger post-launch updates are making a case for why a solution should arrive sooner rather than later.
Source: Bloomberg