Sony is issuing the first PlayStation 5 update this week. In an official PlayStation Blog post this morning, Sony unleashed some details on what will be the very first notable PS5 console and UI update, including USB storage details, cross-console sharing, and more. While many folks are still looking to get their hands on one, at least you know the first round of bugs has been ironed out alongside some new features before you do. For everyone else, the experience is (hopefully) about to get even better. Head below for the details.
PlayStation 5 update coming tomorrow
The upcoming PlayStation 5 update will cover USB external storage expansions, new social features with PS4, enhanced personalization options in the Game Base menu, and some new PlayStation app features. All of which are scheduled to go live tomorrow.
PS5 Storage Expansion and Management
First up is PS5 Storage Expansion and Management. While Sony is still working on storage expansion via M.2 drives, it will now allow gamers to transfer PS5 games to USB extended storage from your console’s internal storage. You’ll still need to copy them back to the internal SSD to actually play them, but it is “faster to reinstall PS5 games from USB extended storage than to re-download or copy them from a disc.” Here are more details on that front from Sony:
Because PS5 games are designed to take advantage of the console’s ultra high-speed SSD, PS5 titles can’t be played from USB extended storage. PS5 titles also cannot be directly downloaded to USB extended storage. However, games that you transfer or copy back to internal storage will automatically update when applicable. In addition, you can select which game modes you want to install (such as campaign or multiplayer) for select titles that support the option.
Sony also dropped a link to this help page as part of today’s announcement.
Social features
Social features between PS5 and PS4 gamers are also being addressed in the upcoming PlayStation 5 update as well. PS5 and PS4 players can now leverage Share Play together while chatting in parties, let their PS4 user friends view their game screen, and even try out the 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 a second controller virtually to play co-op games together. A selection of your friends’ joinable game sessions will now appear on both PS5 and PS4 consoles, allowing for more gameplay opportunities together. The “Request to Join” option also serves as a shortcut to sending a game invite, reducing the time it takes for you to get into games with friends.
PlayStation 5 update personalization and control
The enhanced personalization and control aspect of the update is quite an involved one. It includes minor improvements for the Game Base menu, the ability to disable game chat or adjust players’ volume, game library customizations, screen zoom settings, and a whole new Trophy Settings and Stats Screen. You’ll find more details on this stuff right here.
PlayStation app:
Alongside tomorrow’s PlayStation 5 update, Sony will introduce some changes and enhancements to PlayStation App that will apparently make it easier to connect with your console remotely:
Recently, we introduced the ability to save products in a wishlist, get notifications when your friends are online, and change your console online status. In the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out even more, including the ability to join a multiplayer session on PS5 from the app, manage your PS5 console storage, compare trophy collections with friends, and sort and filter products shown in the PlayStation Store. You can download PlayStation App for free from Google Play and the App Store.
Head over to the official PlayStation Blog for even more details about each of these new features and changes. According to Sony, the first major PlayStation 5 update “is rolling out globally tomorrow.”
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