The PS5 has been plagued with a serious download bug since its initial Nov. 12 launch. According to IGN, a large number of reports are centered around PS5 game versions, including Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Demon's Souls and Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered.
Activision advised customers to do a factory reset, which wipes your console and requires you to re-download all your games. Imagine re-downloading 210.7GB worth of COD! Fortunately, Sony took to Twitter to offer a less drastic solution.
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Sony offers a solution for frustrating download bug
There are widespread reports of a PS5 bug thwarting gamers from downloading PS5 games. The bug manifests in two forms: a "queued for download" message pops up or a download error appears. In both cases, you'll be prompted to check the downloads menu and you won't see the game.
@AskPS_ANZ @AskPlayStation please help! CoD won't install. Says it's queued for download, but download queue is empty. Can't find any way to cancel the broken download. Meanwhile it's chewing up storage space allocated for the download. :( #PS5Share pic.twitter.com/uQK37YbEYtNovember 14, 2020
The bug causes the game to get stuck in PS5 purgatory — it refuses to download, and it can't be cancelled or restarted. The PS5 library will reveal that you own the game, but when you check the game listing in the PS5 store, it will say you don't own the game, prompting you to purchase it.
If you’ve experienced issues downloading games with “Queued for Download” or “View Details” messages on PS5, please update the system software to the latest version, start your PS5 in safe mode then rebuild the database. See "PS5:safe mode options" at https://t.co/BfgPSMafxd. pic.twitter.com/Vq7m0dXA23November 19, 2020
How to fix the bug
@AskPlayStation, the official support Twitter for PlayStation owners, offered a solution to rectify this download error loop. Affected PS5 users must download the latest update, boot the console into safe mode and rebuild the database.
Starting the PS5 in safe mode involves shutting down the console and holding down the power button for seven seconds until you hear two beeps.
The download error is certainly disappointing for many excited gamers who purchased the PS5 at launch, but bugs and glitches are to be expected with the first batch of final-production consoles.
