The fast SSD of the PlayStation 5 has only 825 GB of storage space, of which only 667 GB can actually be used for games. But thanks to a data compression technology, games on the PS5 require significantly less storage space. This makes the survival game Subnautica particularly “small”.
The website Twisted Voxel had reported that Subnautica only required 3.5 GB of storage space on the PlayStation 5 (test), which means a saving of 70 percent compared to the 14 GB on the PlayStation 4. In the meantime, comments from commentators in the Reddit discussion on the report have corrected this figure to 5 GB of storage space, but this still means more than 60 percent less storage spaceThis is probably the most extreme example so far of the possible reduction in the installation size of games with the SSD technology of the PlayStation 5. The up to 5.5 GB/s fast PCIe 4.0 SSD of the PS5 uses a data compression that Sony calls “Kraken” technology.
Control on PS5 almost 40% smaller than on PS4
Another example of the effectiveness of the technology is the game Control: Ultimate Edition, which requires about 42.5 GB of storage space on the Xbox Series X, while it occupies almost 40 percent less data storage on the PS5 with almost 25.8 GB, writes Techradar . The SSD of the Xbox Series X, however, offers around 800 GB of usable memory (a total of 1,000 GB), while the PlayStation 5 only has 667 GB.
Compression technology is gaining in importance due to the comparatively small amount of memory and the fact that PS5 games have recently been saved on external USB storage media, but cannot be started from them.
M.2 SSD extension still not possible
Only if Sony releases the M.2 slot for installing a second, fast SSD, the actual storage space can be expanded for games that can be played directly from it. According to unconfirmed rumors, Sony should plan a corresponding update for the summer.
If the SSD performance is only classified based on the sequential throughput rates, then current PCIe 4.0 SSDs like this offer Corsair MP600 Pro (test) or the WD Black SN850 (test) with 7 GB/s reading and more than 5 GB/s writing certainly enough potential for this task. Sony first wanted to certify suitable SSDs for use in the PlayStation 5. Whether and how this will happen remains to be seen.