The number of games a PS5 can hold varies greatly depending on the size of the games and the storage capacity of your console, but typically a user can expect to store around 10-20 average sized games on the internal drive.
Thinking about expanding your gaming library on your PlayStation 5? The question of how many games can a PS5 hold often comes up, and it’s a valid concern for any player. We all want to make the most of our console’s storage.
The reality is, the number depends on game size. Some titles take up a large amount of space, while others are more compact. This impacts how many you can keep readily available.
How Many Games Can a PS5 Hold?
Okay, so you’ve got your shiny new PlayStation 5, and you’re probably wondering, just how many awesome games can this thing actually hold? It’s a great question! The answer isn’t as simple as a single number, because it depends on a few things. Let’s dive into the details of PlayStation 5 storage and figure out how many games you can fit on your console. We’ll talk about the different versions of the PS5, how much space game files use, and ways to get more room for your favorite titles.
The PS5’s Built-in Storage
The PlayStation 5 comes in two main versions: the standard PS5 with a disc drive, and the PS5 Digital Edition, which doesn’t have a disc drive. Both versions initially ship with the same amount of built-in storage, but the usable space is not the same, and it’s not as much as you might expect. This is because a portion of that storage is reserved for the console’s operating system and essential software, just like a computer.
What is Usable Storage?
When Sony talks about the PS5 having a specific amount of storage, like 825GB, they’re referring to the total storage capacity, not the amount you can actually use for games, videos and other apps. A significant amount of space is already taken up by the system files, meaning the available storage for you is always less. So, while the console might be advertised as having 825 GB, the usable space is actually lower.
PS5 Storage Differences: A Closer Look
Let’s break down the storage a little more.
- Total Storage: Both PS5 models come with an 825GB solid state drive (SSD). This SSD is really fast, which makes loading games much quicker than previous generations of consoles.
- Usable Storage: After the system software, games and everything else, the actual amount of storage you can use for games and other things is closer to about 667GB. This is the number that actually matters when you’re thinking about how many games you can install. This means, approximately 158GB is reserved for the system files.
Understanding Game File Sizes
Now we know how much space is actually available on the PS5, let’s see how game file sizes impact how many games you can store. Game file sizes have grown a lot over the years, particularly as graphics and gameplay become more complicated and detailed. These days, some of the biggest games can take up a huge chunk of your storage space.
Game File Size Varies
The size of a game file can vary greatly, depending on the complexity and graphics, the content of the game and many other factors. Here are a few examples of various sizes of games, so you can get a general idea:
- Small Indie Games: 5 GB to 15 GB
- Medium-Sized Games: 20 GB to 50 GB
- Large AAA Games: 60 GB to 100 GB or more
You can clearly see that a large game can easily take up to 100GB. For example, games like Call of Duty or Cyberpunk 2077 are quite huge. However, small indie games or some older games can be considerably smaller. This means that you can fit more small games than big ones on your PS5. It’s a mixed bag, and the file size of the games you love will directly impact how many you can store on your PS5.
Digital vs. Disc Games: Does it Matter?
You might be wondering if the way you get your games impacts storage. If you have the standard PS5 with a disc drive, you can get games on disc. However, even if you buy a game on disc, you usually still have to install a large portion of the game to the console’s storage to play it. The disc mainly functions as a key to let the system know you own the game. This also means there’s no significant storage advantage with buying disc versions of games.
On the other hand, if you purchase games digitally from the PlayStation Store, the whole game is downloaded and stored on your PS5.
Estimating How Many Games
Alright, now that we know about storage space and game file sizes, let’s estimate how many games you can actually keep on your PS5. Keep in mind that this is just an estimate and not an exact figure, as it can be different for different users.
A Rough Calculation
Let’s say on average, a game is around 50GB, which we know can vary a lot depending on the game. With 667GB of usable space, you could roughly hold: 667 GB / 50 GB per game = about 13 games.
However, if we take the average size to be about 75 GB, you could roughly hold about 9 games.
As you can see, the number of games you can store depends a lot on the size of the game, which means you should be prepared to delete games if you have several big titles in your gaming library.
Different Scenarios for Game Storage
Let’s look at different scenarios:
- Scenario 1: Mostly Small Games: If you like playing indie games, older games, or smaller titles, you can store many more games. For instance, if your games average around 25GB each, you could store approximately 26 games.
- Scenario 2: A Mix of Games: If your library has both small and large games, your average will be somewhere in the middle. You could store around 12-16 games.
- Scenario 3: Mostly Large Games: If your library is full of AAA titles and large games that are around 75GB or more, you could store about 8-10 games on your PS5.
Expanding Your PS5 Storage
So, what do you do if you’re a serious gamer and want to have many games installed at once? You can expand your PS5 storage. Sony made this possible through expansion slots for NVMe SSDs, allowing you to add to your available storage.
Adding an Internal NVMe SSD
The primary way to expand storage is by adding another internal SSD to your console. Sony has included an expansion slot in PS5 that allows you to install an additional M.2 NVMe SSD. However, not all SSDs are compatible with the PS5. Here are a few important factors you need to keep in mind before buying an internal SSD:
- Type of SSD: It must be an NVMe PCIe Gen4 M.2 SSD. Other types won’t work with your PS5.
- Speed: It should have a read speed of at least 5500 MB/s for optimal performance.
- Size: The size of the storage that you want will depend on the number of games you want to keep stored. The PS5 supports SSD sizes from 250 GB to 4 TB.
- Heatsink: A heatsink is highly recommended to prevent the SSD from overheating, because it can cause performance issues or damage to the console.
How to Install an NVMe SSD
Installing an SSD in your PS5 is not very complicated but requires some careful steps:
- Turn off your PS5 completely and unplug it.
- Open the expansion bay cover using a screwdriver.
- Install the new SSD into the slot.
- Use the screw to fix the SSD in place.
- Put the bay cover back on.
- Turn your PS5 back on.
- The PS5 will recognize the new drive and will format it to work with the console.
After following these steps, you will have increased the storage of your PS5, which means you can store many more games on it.
External USB Drives
There is another way to store games on PS5 using an external hard drive. However, the external USB drives can only be used to store PS4 games. You cannot store PS5 games on external USB drives. However, this is useful if you play older PS4 games on your PS5. By installing PS4 games on external hard drives you free up space on your PS5 SSD for PS5 games.
Managing Your PS5 Storage
Even with added storage, it’s good to manage your games efficiently to make sure that you have enough space for the games you want to play.
Deleting Games
The simplest way to free up space is by deleting the games you are no longer playing, and if you ever feel like playing it again, you can reinstall it from the disc or download it again from the PlayStation store, as the game is already in your game library.
Moving Games
If you have an expanded storage with an internal SSD, you can transfer games between your console’s internal storage and the added SSD. This can be a faster alternative to deleting and re-downloading the games. If you use an external drive for PS4 games, you can also move games between your internal storage and external drive.
Prioritizing Games
You can try to prioritize the games you want to play right now. It doesn’t make sense to keep all of the games installed if you are only playing a few of them. You can install the games you are playing right now and download others later, when you plan to play them.
Managing storage might seem a little complicated, but it’s not once you get the hang of it. The trick is to be mindful of what you have installed and to delete, move or archive games when needed.
So, the answer to how many games can a PS5 hold is that there isn’t one definitive number. It depends on the size of the game, the type of games you play and how much additional storage you add to your console. The PS5 can hold between 8-25 games depending on the average game file size, but by adding internal storage, you can greatly increase the amount of games your PS5 can hold.
How Many Games Does the PS5 Console Hold In its 825GB Memory? (PlayStation 5)
Final Thoughts
The number of games a PS5 can hold depends heavily on the size of each game. Larger, modern titles consume significant storage. You should also factor in system files which occupy space.
A standard PS5 with 825GB of storage gives approximately 667GB usable space. This space will accommodate around 10-20 average-sized games. Consider how many games can a PS5 hold before purchasing and plan storage expansion, if required.
