Rumor mill: An alleged "review kit" for the PlayStation 5 reveals a smaller storage capacity than the 825GB SSD that Sony has promised. The supposed system screen reads that it has a 667GB HDD. Could this be a hoax, or is Sony really issuing downgraded review units?

Yesterday, a Redditor revealed that the upcoming Xbox Series S has a measly 364GB of available storage space, which is somewhat shocking considering the size of video games these days. Now a Twitter user leaked storage specifications for the PlayStation 5, showing 648GB of usable drive space. For reference, the XBSS has a 512GB SSD, while the PS5's is 825GB.

While it is not surprising that some of each console's storage is eaten up by operating systems and potentially preinstalled apps like Apple TV and others, these low final numbers are disappointing for next-generation consoles. Triple-A titles are just under 80GB on average, even on current-gen hardware. Some titles are even reaching into the hundreds of gigabytes now. Factor in the added baggage of 4K assets, and PS5 and XBSX|S games are likely to exceed 100GB of install space on average before long, if not at launch.

Before getting in an uproar, keep in mind that this information comes from someone with a review kit rather than through official Sony channels. His system info also lists the storage as a 667.176GB HDD rather than the 825GB SSD listed in Sony's specs. It could be that review units are getting cheaper (and slower) storage solutions, but that seems counterproductive in generating good reviews.

That said, 648GB of alleged available storage is still higher than what came on the 500GB PS4 at launch, but not by much. Furthermore, as the PS4 matured and games became more advanced, that space went fast. Of course, this prompted Sony to issue a 1TB model two years into its lifecycle. Even now, a 1TB drive does not feel like enough for the PlayStation 4.

Sony has said that the SSD in the PS5 will be upgradable and that it also has an NVMe SSD expansion bay, but a typical third-party drive will lose the advantages of the PS5's super-fast storage architecture. Sony has not revealed when it will release higher capacities for its proprietary SSD, but you can bet they won't come cheap. The Seagate expansion card for Microsoft's XBSX|S runs $220. We can expect a similar expense for Sony's upgraded storage solutions.

It's also worth noting that this claim could be someone trying to pull off a hoax. It would not be hard to spoof a system settings screen for a system that nobody has seen yet. So take the news with a grain of salt and treat it as a rumor until we get to see the real thing when the PlayStation 5 launches on November 12.