PlayStation 5 - How Many Games Can You Store?

With the PS5 having a Digital Edition and Standard Edition, one would expect some SSD storage differences, but both have an irregular 825GB of space. We see just how far that will get you in the real world.

There is a lot to be said for digital only consoles. Not only are they better for the environment, but they also allow gamers to access their library easier and faster. One of the strangest things about the PS5, however, is that the Digital Edition comes with 825GB SSD storage – exactly the same as the Standard Edition.

One would expect that a console designed to download and store massive games would have been given a larger storage capacity. In the real world, there are usually a few people in a household that play games. Kids and parents all need to store their games on the family console, and with included downloads from PS Plus like Bloodborne, Days Gone and Ratchet and Clank, it will not take long to fill up the SSD storage.

How Many Games Can I Store On A PS5?

The quick answer is 12 – 15 games.

Truthfully, the number of games you can comfortably fit on your PS5 SSD storage will largely depend on the size* of the games you install, obviously, but let’s look at the most downloaded PS5 games in the PlayStation Store as a guide: -

*sizes are rounded up to nearest GB

If you were to purchase and download all of the top twelve games above, that would leave you with a little over 92GB left on your SSD storage.

While this is not a scientific and true real-world example, it’s as close as we can get to something most gamers can relate to. In the top list of games downloaded on PlayStation 5 there are a few titles that young children will play, and some adult games. This gives us a good cross-section of the games that might appear on the average PS5 SSD.

Of course, this does not leave much room for those of us who like the classics, and those who download the PS Plus games each month without hesitation. Much the same as a Steam Summer Sale, the impulsive nature of a freebie or a bargain is just too tempting for gamers… which would go some way to explaining my back-catalogue of games on Steam currently being at around forty games. With games like Bloodborne on PS Plus, it’s hard to resist.

Realistically speaking, people don’t tend to have a massively varying spectrum of taste when it comes to games - i.e you are into driving games, you download driving games. However, kids are a little more flexible in the genres they play, so if there are any young gamers in your household, expect to see the following games and download sizes: -

With this kind of kids library on your PS5, you are looking at around 300GB in used SSD storage. This will leave you with 525GB for more adult-oriented games. That being the case, you may only be able to fit another five or six games, considering the huge footprint of games like the Call of Duty series.

Of course, all is not lost, and we’ll tell you how you can expand your PS5 SSD storage for you and the whole family a little later in this article.

October New Releases – What Size Are They On PS5?

October sees the release of some much-anticipated games. Their storage size may be something you need to think about.

These games have been in the making for some time, and gamers are ready to get their hands on them for the PS5 – but will they have enough storage for the likes of the epically good-looking Far Cry 6 or the huge bootprint of FIFA 22?

PS Plus Free Games For October – How Big Are They?

One would assume that the smart minds at Sony actually sat down and thought about which games would be best to release during a huge month for gamers. With potentially over 160GB in games being released next month, there won’t be much room for the freebies from Sony.

Nothing too big there, then. Mortal Kombat X is the largest, at 44GB, which will eat up around 5% of storage space on a PS5 SSD.

Mortal Kombat X – NetherRealm Studios

The November release of Call of Duty: Vanguard is pretty monstrous, too, with 89.84GB of storage required on your hard drive.

Increasing Storage On Your PS5

Naturally, the answer to any storage problems is expanding your PS5 SSD storage, which is now possible thanks to a firmware update from Sony.

You are now able to purchase NVMe M.2 SSD storage and install it yourself, increasing your storage by as much as 2TB if you wish. The expanded storage will not affect your current storage, and will act as overflow storage for any games you download.

How To Install PS5 M.2 SSD Storage

Which SSD Storage Is Best For PS5?

In a recent CCL article, we gave readers a rundown on the best SSD storage for PS5. You can read that here: The Best SSD For PS5 And How To Install It.

Here are some of the highlights: -

Western Digital Black SN850 500GB M.2-2280 SSD – Under £110

Patriot Viper VP4100 1TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe – Under £175

Seagate FireCuda 530 500GB M.2-2280 SSD – BEST VALUE: Under £105

As you can see from the above examples, you can expand to 1TB for under £175, which is the cost of about four games. This extra storage will ensure you and the rest of the gamers in your household are able to continue buying and downloading some of the awesome titles coming our way on PS5 over the next 12 months.

Bonus: Biggest Game Download Sizes For PS5

In case you were wondering, these are the biggest games in terms of download size for the PS5.

• Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Cross Play / Ultimate Edition: 283GB+
• Spider-Man Miles Morales Ultimate Edition: 170GB+
• Hitman 3 – 105GB+
• Destiny 2: 101GB+
• The Last of Us 2: 93GB+
• NBA 2K22: 93GB+
• Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut: 91GB+
• Mortal Kombat 11: 84GB+
• Rainbow Six Siege Ultimate Edition / Operator Edition: 68GB+
• Cyberpunk 2077: 63GB+

There are some monsters here, but with the potential upcoming release of games like GTA 6, we might be hearing Rockstar saying “Hold my Sprunk”.