Can You Play PS5 Games From A USB Drive? Here's What You Should Know

So, can you play PS5 games from a USB drive?

As technology advances, games require more and more storage space, for some of us that like to enjoy a wide variety of games, we can quickly fill up the space available.

We know that you can uninstall and reinstall games to suit your current needs, however, can this process be avoided by playing games directly from a USB drive?

Can You Play PS5 Games From A USB Drive?

In short, no, you cannot play games directly from a USB drive on PS5, however, you can store games on an external hard drive and transfer them back to the main SSD to play them.

Any of the best external SSDs for gaming can be great for storing your spare games, and you can transfer them back to your PS5 in order to play them much faster than downloading or copying from a disk.

However, for those looking to play directly from expandable storage, there may be another solution...

Can I expand PS5 SSD storage?

Sony has listened to its fans and has created a way that you can expand the internal storage of the PS5, meaning you play games directly from an internal M.2 SSD that is compatible with the console.

The storage of the PS5 Disc or Digital Edition can be expanded up to a huge 4TB which should be more than enough to store all of your games.

While this feature wasn't available on launch day, after a recent update, you can now expand the internal storage.

Read More: Best M.2 SSD For PS5 2021: Internal SSDs To Consider For Your Console

What Is An M.2 SSD?

So, what exactly is an M.2 SSD and which ones are compatible with the PS5?

An M.2 SSD is a high-speed storage device that expands the existing internal storage capacity of compatible devices, they can be used on the PS5, as long as they meet the requirements.

The name 'M.2' refers to the specific type of slot that the SSD needs to be connected into in order to be used. Such SSDs are smaller and have no mechanical parts, unlike the older 2.5" SATA SSDs they're designed to replace.

They also allow for much quicker read and write speeds, which makes them perfect for a next-gen games console like the PS5. For an M.2 SSD to be compatible with the PS5, it needs to have read speeds of 5500MB/s or quicker, for reference, hence the requirement for them to be PCIe Gen 4.

If you've been following us closely on Gfinity Deals you'll know can be a little tricky to know exactly which M.2 SSD's are compatible with PS5.

But don't worry, we've done the research for you and compiled our list of top picks for M.2 SSDs for PS5 for you.

READ MORE: What Is PS5 3D Audio? Here's Everything You Need To Know