New PS5 Bug Is Causing Serious Headaches For Users
If you bought a PlayStation 5 on launch day, you probably want to break it in with next-gen launch titles. Nothing accentuates that new-console smell quite like loading up a game released along with the platform. However, your console might decide to turn a normal download into a Sisyphean task that might not exist in the first place. Don't worry, that will make sense in a minute.
According to IGN and numerous reports from Reddit, early PS5 adopters are encountering a dreaded "Queued for Download" bug. The glitch occurs when you try to download a game onto your PS5, but instead of installing onto the hard drive as normal, the game winds up in a digital purgatory, and your console can't cope.
IGN reported the queue bug can take one of two forms. In the first, the game seemingly queues for download — hence the bug's name — and your PS5 asks you to check your downloads menu, but the game is nowhere to be found. If you scour your personal PS5 library, the console will assure you that you do indeed own the title, but if you check the PS5 store, it claims otherwise. Since the console has two contradicting pieces of info, you can't redownload the title, and since the game doesn't show up on your download queue, you can't cancel it either. As for the bug's second form, it starts as a normal download error that asks you to check your downloads menu. But when you do, the game is nowhere to be found. Again.
Apparently, only PS5 titles are affected. Gamers have reported that Demon's Souls, Spider-Man: Remastered, and Call of Duty: Cold War are affected. Many also claim that a factory reset fixes the issue — mostly because it wipes the slate clean.
According to Reddit user solidsnake222, the problem might materialize when you try to force feed an SSD past its breaking point. This redditor claimed they tried to download Cold War onto their console when it was down to 9 GB. They assumed the console would refuse and state other games had to be deleted first. Instead, the download was spirited away into installation limbo. To make matters worse, solidsnake222 tried to download Cold War from a disc, not the PS5 store, so not even physical media is safe.
As of this writing, a factory reset is the only solution. IGN reached out to Sony on the issue and has yet to hear back. Since this news spread shortly after YouTuber ACG reported that his first PS5 suffered a fatal hard drive-related crash — and that the PS5 carries less storage space than initially advertised — Sony might have to take its SSD back to the drawing board.