You can play PS4 games on PS5 with an external hard drive

(Image credit: Sony)

The PS5 will be capable of installing and playing PS4 games from an external hard drive containing the titles downloaded from the current generation console, Sony and PlayStation has confirmed.

The news was announced during today's Road to PS5 online livestream, in which the system's lead architect Mark Cerny provided a wealth of new information about the PS5 specs.

"Expandability of our [Solid State Drive] is going to be quite important," explained Cerny."Flash is costly and you may very well want to add storage to whatever we put in the console. 

"The kind of storage you need depends on how you're going to use it. If you have an extensive PS4 library [...] then a large external hard drive is ideal. You can leave your games on the hard drive and play them directly from there, saving the pricier SSD storage for your PS5 titles, or you can copy the PS4 titles directly to the SSD. If your purpose in adding more storage is to play PS5 titles, though, ideally you will add to your SSD storage." 

Cerny went on to stress that Sony "will be supporting certain M2 SSDs" (a.k.a. third party SSDs) to be compatible with PS5, explaining that "these are internal drives that you can get on the open market and can install on the day on the PS5."

You can find out more about how to watch the full PS5 reveal live stream, or stay tuned to GamesRadar for the lastest breakdowns and biggest info from the online event. 

For more, check out all the biggest new games of 2020 to keep an eye on, or watch our latest episode of Dialogue Options below.

Alex Avard

I'm GamesRadar's Features Writer, which makes me responsible for gracing the internet with as many of my words as possible, including reviews, previews, interviews, and more. Lucky internet! 

Latest in PlayStation
Dune Awakening
Dune Awakening launches for $50 without a stay in early access, and while the survival MMO "will not have a monthly subscription" it will have "optional" paid DLC
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe actor was terrified to perform until her first mocap scene earned "a standing ovation" on set: "Maybe I can do this mocap thing"
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Yasuke actor says that Naoe could beat his samurai in a fight: “Especially with that big a** helmet of mine”
The Legend of Dragoon
Beloved PS1 JRPG Legend of Dragoon wasn't meant to be a Final Fantasy 7 killer, Super Mario RPG's battle designer just said "I want to make a new RPG"
Fallout 76 screenshot showing an irradiated mutant man-like creature screeching, its sharp canine teeth showing
After 14 years at Bethesda, Skyrim and Fallout veteran made his final settlement in just 2 days – but only because he'd made some rough ones before that
Asssassin's Creed Shadows kusarigama
My favorite weapon in Assassin's Creed Shadows is also the most misunderstood
Latest in News
Street Fighter
Almost a year after losing Talk to Me directors, Sony's Street Fighter movie has been pulled from the studio's release schedule
Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us
Pedro Pascal opens up about his "unhealthy mindset" going into The Last of Us season 2: "I kind of feel their pain"
Ben Mendelsohn in Andor season 2
Andor season 2 could be about to turn one of the darkest events in Star Wars even darker
Dune Awakening
Dune Awakening launches for $50 without a stay in early access, and while the survival MMO "will not have a monthly subscription" it will have "optional" paid DLC
Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton in Hawkeye
Linda Cardellini cast as Jason's mom, the original Friday the 13th killer, for Crystal Lake prequel series
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red won't make survival games just because they're popular, but Netflix's Edgerunners anime is fueling dreams bigger than RPGs