Before the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, one of highly advertised features for both consoles were faster load times with the consoles’ inclusion of SSDs. Load times are certainly faster on the new generation of consoles compared to that of the PS4 and Xbox One era, but there is one area that fans perhaps assumed would also get a boost, one that was addressed on the Xbox Series X|S but not the PS5 - download speeds. Like the PS4 days, games like Destiny 2 are experiencing slow download speeds and update copying delays on the PS5
While both the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S had successful launches, many players have experienced issues with their consoles. Some players may not have even gotten their new console on launch day despite pre-ordering. Although hiccups are bound to happen with the release of a new console, the amount of issues popping up could add to the claims that the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S could’ve waited another year or two before launching.
Destiny 2 is not the only game on the PS5 experiencing slow download times. The amount of time it takes to download games on the PS5 still appears to be slow in general despite the PS5’s use of an SSD. Mike Williams of USGamer has experienced the contrary, stating a 36.6GB game took “7 minutes and 1 second” to download compared to the PS4 Pro which “took a total of 58 minutes and 34 seconds to download completely.” In Screen Rant’s PS5 review, Rob Keyes experienced “painfully slow download speeds” with a medium-sized game such as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales taking nearly 3 hours to download and a smaller game like Rocket League taking nearly an hour. Additionally, Sony never officially mentions anything about increased download speeds. Sony’s PS5 FAQ page only mentions software updates, stating, “Downloading and applying game software updates on PS5 should work more quickly than on the PS4 console in general, as the data size of updates and patches is managed more effectively."
PS5's Spotty Downloading Problems Explained
Players may not have to worry too much about download speeds if their games aren’t able to be downloaded at all. A ‘Queued for Download’ bug is preventing some players from downloading games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. This is one of the more major issues players have experienced with the PS5 that needs to be addressed.
In general, it seems like the SSD within the PS5 mainly impacts loading times for games and navigation. There may be some difference in download speeds between the PS4 and PS5, but that does not necessarily reflect every player's experience. The 825GB SSD storage of the PS5 may be big enough for gamers to look past the download speeds early on. However, as games continue to get larger over the years, players may find themselves spending even more time waiting for games to download.
It is important to note that PS5 download speeds could also depend on internet speed. Better internet connection means faster internet, which can lead to faster download times. The current PS5 download times may not even be a problem to gamers who are used to slow download speeds on the PS4 due to their internet connection. So while one player may experience slower download speeds, another player may see fast download speeds. At least once games are downloaded players won’t have to worry about load times. If only the PlayStation 5 drastically increased download speeds like the Xbox Series X|S did, Sony would have one less problem to worry about.