Update: Sony has issued guidance on a fix for the download queue issue that doesn't require a factory reset.
A major PlayStation 5 bug is keeping new console owners from downloading games, and the only solution may be to perform a complete factory reset on the console. Demand for Sony’s next-gen PlayStation hardware was massive, driving fans to crash retailer websites both when pre-orders went live and when more consoles showed up on launch day. Like with many console launches, though, when the big day arrived, the PS5 wasn’t without its problems.
One of the most severe was a storage rebuild error, which seemed to result from putting some games, including Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered into rest mode. Doing so would reportedly crash the console, requiring players to repair their hard drives, and sometimes force reset the console afterward. For YouTuber ACG, though, the problem was much worse, completely bricking his console. Others were worried about cooling after a PS5 was found to have overheated in a Best Buy display case, but Sony says that the solution to that is simply allowing proper ventilation, something that’s much easier in players’ homes than in retail demo units.
Now, reports are coming in of download errors forcing players to initiate a full factory reset to fix. IGN reports that several staff members had issues when downloading certain games, which either caused the games to be perpetually listed as “queued for download” without ever making progress, or showing a download error. In either case, there was no way to cancel or restart the download, and other players have reported similar issues. IGN says that games including Demon’s Souls and Godfall have caused the error for other players, but it’s most common with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. In the latter case, Activision has advised players to complete a factory reset to clear the error, which also results in wiping all data from the console.
While not as severe as a completely broken console, any error that requires a factory reset is almost as major as bugs get. Fortunately, most players likely don’t have too much data already saved on their PS5s yet, this being the week of launch, so no one will be losing years of saved games and screenshots. Still, players would surely rather be playing games on their brand-new next-gen consoles than struggling to even get them to work.
Console launches are always fraught with concern over whether the brand-new consoles will start showing major problems - like the infamous Xbox 360 red ring of death - often coming after anxiety over whether it will be possible to get new consoles at all. With shortages of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S expected well into next year, even solvable problems can be stress-inducing for players who just dropped a hefty chunk of change on new hardware.
Source: IGN