Best SSD for GTA 6 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S: Make Room for Leonida

GTA 6 is the biggest install of the generation so far: roughly 210 GB before you have downloaded a single update, and the pre-load alone asks for up to 212 GB of free space. On a base PS5 that is close to a third of your usable storage, and on a 512 GB Xbox Series S it is more than half of it. You can delete your way to launch day, or you can expand once and stop thinking about it. If you are expanding, here is what actually works on each console.

PS5: the requirements come first

Sony is strict about what goes inside a PS5 or PS5 Pro. The drive has to be an M.2 NVMe SSD on a PCIe Gen4 x4 interface, in the 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 or 22110 form factor, with a capacity between 250 GB and 8 TB. Sony recommends read speeds of 5,500 MB/s or faster, a Socket 3 (Key M) connector, and — this is the part people skip — a heatsink. Buy a drive with one fitted, or add one yourself, because a bare drive will cook itself in the PS5's enclosed bay.

The PS5 drives worth buying

WD Black SN850X (2 TB) is the default recommendation for a reason. It reads at up to 7,300 MB/s — comfortably past Sony's bar — the heatsink version drops straight into either PS5 model, and 2 TB gives GTA 6 room to sit alongside several other big installs. US pricing has hovered around $370–420.

Samsung 990 Pro (2 TB) is the connoisseur's alternative: marginally faster at up to 7,450 MB/s, with strong software support if you ever move it to a PC. Expect roughly $400 without a heatsink and up to $550 with one, so make sure you are comparing the right version before buying.

SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P (1 TB) is the officially licensed option — it carries the PlayStation logo, includes a purpose-built heatsink, and reads at up to 7,300 MB/s. At around $310 it is the cheapest stress-free route if 1 TB of extra space is enough.

And if your library is enormous and your budget is not a concern, the WD Black SN850X also comes in 8 TB at around $1,500. That is the whole console-generation in one drive, at a price to match.

Xbox Series X|S: cards, not surgery

Xbox works differently. The internal SSD is paired to the console's board, and swapping it is a risky, warranty-ending job nobody should attempt a week before launch. The supported route is a Storage Expansion Card that slots into the dedicated port on the back. Cards match the internal drive's Velocity Architecture speeds, so Series X|S games — GTA 6 included — play directly from them, Quick Resume and all. A USB hard drive, by contrast, can store current-gen games but cannot run them.

The Seagate 2 TB card is the established pick, made in partnership with Xbox. The WD Black C50 at 1 TB is the value play — combined with the internal drive it gives most players plenty of room. SanDisk's 2 TB card is the priciest, though it sweetens the deal with a month of Game Pass Ultimate.

What an SSD will and won't do

Be clear about what you are paying for. No drive here makes GTA 6 faster in frame-rate terms — the game runs at a 30 fps target on consoles, and storage does not change that. What you get is the install itself, fast loads, and an end to the delete-something-every-week shuffle. One last tip: whatever you buy, install it before pre-load day, not during it. Launch-week you will thank you.