Sony will reportedly unlock the PS5’s SSD in the summer of 2021

The PS5 comes with 825GB SSD storage with a mere 667GB available to the user. This means you can have no more than a few games on the internal SSD at a given time. Most popular AAA games are about 40-50GB in size, with games like Call of Duty crossing the 100GB barrier. The PS5 (review) has an M.2 expansion slot, but the expansion option was locked when the console launched. According to a Bloomberg report, Sony is looking to grant users access to the expansion slot this summer via a firmware update. 

According to the Bloomberg report, “Adding support for additional drives will be enabled with a firmware update that also unlocks higher cooling-fan speeds to ensure the console doesn’t overheat, the people said, asking not to be named because the plans are not yet public”. So, it looks like in addition to granting users access to the expansion options, Sony could also increase the cooling fan’s speed to ensure the drive doesn’t get too hot. 

Sony could unlock PS5 SSD storage M.2 drive

Considering the fast speed of the PS5’s SSD, users will have to check for compatibility before investing in an M.2 drive. During the GDC 2020 PS5 talk, Lead System Architect for the PS5 Mark Cerny said that M.2 drivers were being tested for compatibility. We think Sony will shed light on the required specifications for the expansion drive before releasing the update. While the PS5 does support an external USB 3 drive, it is only to store and playback PS4 games. Users cannot use it to back up PS5 games, which is a bummer. 

Microsoft, on the other hand, has gone with a proprietary approach. The proprietary 1TB expansion card for the Xbox Series X/S costs a whopping Rs 23,499 in India. To put things into perspective, the Xbox Series S is priced at Rs 34,990. However, Xbox gamers can back up Xbox Series X (review) games to an external drive and copy them back to the internal drive when they want to play the games, adding a bit of convenience to those that don't want to invest in the native storage expansion.

Both Sony and Microsoft have launched their respective consoles in India, but both of them will be scarce for the foreseeable future. You can learn why, here.