How to upgrade your PS5 storage

There’s nothing worse than sitting down to play one of the best PS5 games only to find out that you don’t have enough storage space to download it. Even if you have the game on disc, you still need to download the game to your system’s memory in order to play it, and that space can fill up fast if you’re playing a massive title like the best Call of Duty games. When that happens, your options are to either delete a game you have installed to make room or expand your storage. Thankfully the latter option is easier and cheaper than ever before. If you want to make sure you have space for all the upcoming PS5 games without having to delete your current favorites, here’s how to upgrade your storage.

How external storage works with PS5

Since the PS5 is backward compatible with most PS4 games, you’ll likely be using your new system to catch up on some last-gen favorites. That’s where an external drive comes in handy. You need to buy one that’s compatible and format it to work with the PS5. Once you plug in the drive to your PS5 via a USB, head to the Settings > Storage > Extended Storage, and you’ll find the option to format it as exFAT. After you do, it’ll be compatible with your new system.

From here, you can enable the drive to be the primary storage location for PS4 games. To enable it, simply click the slider to the right of Always Install PS4 Games to Extended Storage. If you have PS4 games on your internal drive, you can move them to the external drive. To do so, move up to Console Storage > Games and Apps > Items You Can Move. This list will feature every app or game that can be moved to your external drive, so check whichever ones you’d like to transfer, and select Move in the bottom-right. You’ll get a notice that says, “The selected games and apps will be moved to extended storage,” so mark OK, and you’ll be set. If you have a lot of PS4 games, it will take a while, so step back for a bit while it processes.

Also, do note that your external drive must be