PS5’s first system update adds USB system storage for games

The first major system update for the PlayStation 5 comes on Wednesday, April 14, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced Tuesday. This update will add new features, including external USB storage support for PS5 games and new social features that enable cross-generation share play between the PS5 and PlayStation 4.

The biggest new feature coming in Wednesday’s software update is external USB drive support for PS5 game storage. The option will allow PS5 owners to transfer games installed from internal SSDs to compatible USB drives, and vice versa. The update will not enable the option to play PS5 games directly from external USB storage, nor will it enable the ability to upgrade PS5’s internal SSD storage.

Here’s a description of the new feature from Sony’s PlayStation blog:

Store PS5 games on compatible external USB drives. * With this feature, you can now transfer your PS5 games from your console’s internal storage to USB extended storage. This is a great way to extend the storage capabilities of your PS5 console, and when you’re ready to play, you can copy your PS5 games natively to the console’s internal storage. This is faster than re-downloading PS5 games from USB extended storage or copying them to disk.

Because the PS5 is designed to take advantage of the game console’s ultra high-speed SSD, the PS5 titles cannot be played with USB extended storage. The PS5 title also cannot be downloaded directly into USB extended storage. However, games that you go into internal storage by transferring or copying will automatically update when implemented. In addition, you can select which game modes (such as campaigns or multiplayer) you want to install for select titles that support the option.

The PS5 will also soon be able to be shared together with players on the previous generation PlayStation, the PS4. Here’s a description of Sony’s new feature:

Cross-generation share play. PS4 and PS5 players can now share and chat together at parties. This means PS5 console users can let their friends view their game screen on the PS4 console, or even try PS5 games through Share Play, and vice versa. Options include the ability to share your screen with a friend, pass your controller virtually to a friend, or pass it on to another controller to play a co-op game.

Picture: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Finally, Sony promises new features for the PlayStation app for mobile devices. Sony said, “Recently, we introduced the ability to save products on the wish list, receive notifications when your friends are online, and change your console to online status.” “In the coming weeks, we’ll roll out even more, including the ability to join a multiplayer session on the PS5 from the app, manage your PS5 console storage, compare trophy collections with friends, and feature in PlayStation Compare shop sorted and filtered products. “