The PS5 may only come with 667GB of usable storage, but Sony’s SSD compression technology is helping it go a lot further than some people may have thought.
PlayStation 5 lead architect Mark Cerny spoke about the tech known as Kraken during his Road to PS5 event in 2020, which promised to help reduce game file sizes. While the majority of that talk may have gone over the average consumer's head, we’re now seeing the benefits of Kraken in action – and the results are pretty impressive.
A recent example is Subnautica (thanks, Twisted Voxel), a game that takes up 14GB of space on PS4. However, its re-release on PS5 only requires 3.5GB of space – a reduction of 70%. We’ve also seen the benefits of the PS5’s SSD compression tech on games like Control: Ultimate Edition, which weighs in at 42.5GB on Xbox Series X, but only 25.79GB on PS5. That’s a reduction of 39%.
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While large file sizes remain a particular problem on PS5, partly due to the fact the internal M.2 drive slot is still locked until Sony releases a system update, we’re hopeful that the PS5 will continue to harness the power of its compression technology. Game file sizes have grown exponentially in recent years, with titles like Call of Duty being notable offenders for hogging hard drive space, to the point where you may not have room for anything else.
Crunch those numbers
Thankfully, a recent PS5 system update let users store PS5 games on external drives, which previously wasn’t the case. You’ll still need to transfer them onto the console’s internal SSD if you want to play them, of course, but it at least means there’s a little bit more wiggle room should you want it.
It’s unclear when Sony will unlock the internal M.2 drive for users, as is which type of storage will be compatible. We know that it’s likely that the storage will be worryingly expensive, and there are also concerns as to how the PS5 will handle its internal storage solution, based on previous comments from Sony.
Nevertheless, small game file sizes are always a plus, and we hope to be pleasantly surprised by Kraken's ability to crunch more numbers in the future.
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