Once the PlayStation 5 first impressions started coming in, people with advance units began talking about how external SSDs and HDDs would work with the system. The consensus was that PS5 USB drive support was limited to PlayStation 4 games at launch. Now, as part of its PlayStation Blog Ultimate FAQs, Sony confirmed it is looking into allowing people to eventually use external drives to store PS5 games, saying that “explorations” into the feature “are underway.”
It’s important to note that this will only be a storage alternative for games. The FAQs said, “PS5 games must be stored on the console’s internal ultra-high speed SSD for gameplay.” Also, as this was described using “explorations,” it means the company didn’t guarantee that people will eventually be able to free up internal SSD space with PS5 USB drive support.
If someone does have an external USB drive, they can use it with a PS5 at launch. Sony mentioned that as being a way people can continue to play backwards compatible PS4 games on the system. It even released some support videos showing the steps someone would need to take. (Basically, unplug the USB drive from the PS4 and plug it into a PS5 with the same user account on it.)
The PlayStation 5 will launch in Australia, Japan, North America and South Korea on November 12, 2020. It will appear in the rest of the world on November 19, 2020.
