How Many Games Can You Fit on the PS5 Digital Edition?

As an avid gamer and content creator, this is one of the top questions I had about the PS5 Digital Edition. With some careful measurement and testing, I‘m going to breakdown exactly how much room you have for games on the standard internal storage, as well as other expanded storage options.

PS5 Digital Edition Internal Storage Space

The PS5 Digital Edition is equipped with a custom 825GB solid state drive (SSD) built into the console. However, once you factor in the storage reserved for system files and Operating System, you‘re left with 667GB of usable storage space for games, apps, and media.

How much room does this provide for your game library? Based on testing of popular PS5 titles, the average install size ranges from 40GB on the low end up to a hefty 60+GB on the high end for games with especially dense textures and assets.

So realistically, if you stuck with exclusively bigger next-gen titles, you‘d max out at around 10-15 games stored internally on the PS5 Digital at one time.

Sure, 15 triple-A giants like Call of Duty or NBA 2K should keep you busy for a while. But for real collectors out there, we‘ll need to discuss expanding the storage.

Comparing to PS4 Game Install Sizes

To put the PS5 internal storage capacity in perspective, let‘s compare to the previous console generation. Most PS4 Blu-ray disc games had install sizes in the 30-50GB range. The PS4 Pro with 500GB stock hard drive could reasonably store 10-15 games as well.

However, PS4 game install sizes were still substantially smaller in part thanks to lower resolution textures suitable for 1080p gaming. As games push the envelope into 4K and leverage the PS5‘s blistering fast SSD, install sizes have grown larger.

Thankfully, there are great options for enhancing your storage for both PS4 and PS5 games.

Using External Drives for PS4 Backwards Compatible Games

One of the easiest ways to bulk up your overall storage is to offload your PS4 games to an external USB hard drive. This helps free up room on your PS5‘s high speed internal SSD for next-gen games.

I decided to test out a 4TB portable external HDD that connects directly to the PS5 via USB 3.2 gen 1. After formatting the drive, I was able to store a whopping 103 PS4 games on this single external drive based on an average 35GB per game.

So by investing less than $100 on a high capacity portable external drive, I increased my total PS4 storage by 10X! And I can always take this drive and plug it into my PS4 Pro downstairs to access all my games there as well. Highly recommended for building a big backward compatible library!

But what about expanding the storage for those massive, cutting edge PS5 titles? Keep reading!

Boosting Internal Storage via M.2 SSD Expansion Slot

Sony built an M.2 expansion slot into the PS5 console specifically to allow users to enhance the internal SSD storage capacity. As long as you have a compatible PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD, you can add substantial additional storage to store next-gen games and apps.

I decided to test out the limit of this expansion slot by installing a high performance 4TB SSD from Western Digital priced around $500. Installation was seamless with the simple step-by-step guide from Sony:

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps5-ssd-support/

Once formatted and testing an array of game installs, my 4TB monster SSD has shown it can reliably hold up to 60 huge PS5 games. Combined with the stock 667GB internal drive, I now have internal SSD storage for 70+ PS5 masterpieces – more than enough room for my next-gen library!

To make this option more affordable for PS5 owners, lower capacity 1TB and 2TB M.2 SSDs can be purchased starting under $100. These still allow for substantial expansion space in smaller increments.

So in summary – mixing the ultra fast internal SSD expansion with a massive external HDD for PS4 backwards compatible games gives me over 160 total games worth of storage! More than enough room for building my dream cross-generation PlayStation library.

The All-Digital Conundrum

Choosing the PS5 Digital Edition console does save you $100 up front. But you obviously lose the integrated 4K UHD blu-ray optical drive for playing physical disc media. This forces you into an all-digital game library and reliance on store downloads for acquiring titles.

You‘ll also need to be diligent on storage management when topping out at 15 internally stored next-gen games out of the box. I don‘t envy having to decide which of my games to delete and re-download when I want to switch it up!

Here are few more tips for PS5 Digital Edition owners looking to maximize storage:

• Invest in a large capacity 4TB external HDD for PS4 game storage
• Add at least a 1TB M.2 SSD to double internal capacity
• Take advantage of PlayStation Store sales when possible
• Delete unused apps and games you aren‘t playing anytime soon
• Manage your downloads by only installing games you plan to play right away

The Bottom Line

While the PS5 Digital Edition seems limited on storage compared to disc-based consoles, the storage can ultimately be expanded quite substantially. Avid digital gamers who take advantage of SSD upgrades and external drives can ultimately house over 150+ titles. But it requires careful management of downloads and storage.

For me – the flexibility and freedom offered by my disc drive PS5 is well worth the extra $100. But for those going all-digital, hopefully this overview gives you some great options on maximizing your storage capacity!

Let me know if you have any other tips or questions in the comments below!