We know the specs on paper: the PS5 has a 825GB SSD, while the Xbox Series X has a 1TB one. We also know that no company reports usable space – it’s why your 64GB iPhone 11 only has around 56.5GB of space to play with after iOS is taken into consideration.
Its already been revealed that the Xbox Series X has 802GB of usable space, and now thanks to a leak via the ResetEra forums, we have a figure to put on the PS5: 664GB.
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Assuming the blue icon means ‘applications’ as it does on PS4, it’s also hinted that the bundled Astro’s Playroom game is just 2.38GB in size – although the people taking the screenshot could have installed anything in the meantime.
Before we go any further: a warning. This is a screenshot posted on a forum and could have come from anywhere. There’s no guarantee it’s real, though given PS5 devkits have been available for some time, and the OS size seems plausible enough, we’re inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. All the same, we won’t know for sure until review units are in our hands (or at least until Sony approved specifications surface).
Okay, so assuming it’s accurate and the PS5 comes with 664GB usable storage: is it enough? Well, that probably depends on how you intend to use it. If our theory about Astro’s Playroom weighing in at 2.38GB is correct, then it just proves that not all PS5 games have to take up 50-100 gigabytes at a time.
On the other hand, it’s pretty obvious that plenty do. In terms of launch titles alone, we know that the Demon’s Souls remake will weigh in at 66GB, while those looking for the full Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Launch Edition experience will need to set aside 105GB.
Yes, both Xbox Series X and PS5 games will let you pick and choose which bits to install, but that can only save so much space – and even the biggest PS4 games with comparatively smaller graphical assets are tipping the scales at 70-175GB of storage. Fancy new compression technology may take the edge off that to some degree, but it’s still pretty clear that software installation footprints are going in one direction.
If past consoles have taught us anything, it’s that the quantity of launch storage always proves to be inadequate in the end. The Xbox 360 arrived with a 20GB hard drive, and by the end of the generation, models with 250GB drives were available. Likewise, the original PS4 came with 500GB of storage, but newer models come with 1TB.
You’d imagine that, as SSD prices come down, Microsoft and Sony will adapt with newer models of the Series X and PS5. Early adopters may want to spring for an external storage drive for the PS5.
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