Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. How tos

How to delete games on a PS4

Add as a preferred source on Google
PlayStation 4 bundle
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

If you enjoy variety when it comes to your PlayStation 4 games, then you’ve probably already encountered a storage issue. Since some games can take up as much as 100GB each, your system might not allow you to keep more than a few installed at a time. Here's how to manage storage space by removing games that you have completed or abandoned to make room for new ones.

Recommended Videos

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

10 minutes

What You Need

  • PS4

How to delete games in your PS4 library

Deleting a game from your console isn’t too difficult, and as long as you follow these steps, you’ll be on your way to freeing up PS4 storage space.

Step 1: Navigate to the icon for the game you wish to delete, either in the quick start main menu or in your library, which is found all the way to the right side of the media bar on the PS4 home screen.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108132847
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: While highlighting a game's icon, press the Options button on your controller to bring up this menu.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108125952 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Scroll down to Delete, and confirm your selection by pressing OK.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108125959 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Deleting a game from system storage

If want to clear out lots of space, you may want to delete games from the system storage menu itself. The storage menu lists games in size order, making it easier to identify which games are taking up the most space.

Step 1: Navigate to Settings on the home screen.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108130014 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: Select Storage.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108130022 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Select System Storage, or Extended Storage, if you have an external hard drive attached to your PS4.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108130030 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 4: Select Applications.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108130035 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 5: Press options on your controller, then choose Delete.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108134313
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 6: You can select as many games as you want to delete at this time.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108131014
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 7: With the desired boxes checked, choose Delete.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108131046 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 8: Confirm your selections by pressing OK.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108131051 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Reinstalling digital games

Reinstalling games you bought digitally is also quite simple.

Step 1: Select Library and pan down until you find Purchased on the home screen. If you’d like to search for specific PlayStation Plus games, you can click on the yellow plus sign under the Purchased icon.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108131258 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 2: After that, you’ll likely spot that games that aren’t already downloaded on your console will feature a small download icon. (That icon is usually on the bottom right of the little game display.)

how to delete games on ps4 20180108131358 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: You can tap on any of the download icons on these games, and that game will begin to reinstall on your console.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108131408 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Deleting and reinstalling disc-based games

If you’re playing using a disc-based game, you can manually remove the data.

Step 1: In order to do this, just search for the game in your library, click on it, and then scroll down until you see the Delete icon on the right side.

Step 2: Click on it and delete the game.

Step 3: You must always remove the game disc before deleting it from your console.

Step 4: If you’re ever ready to play that game again, all you have to do is reinsert the disc and reinstall it to your console.

how to delete games on ps4 20180108131744 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
Minecraft is coming to Switch 2, and even the Creepers are getting prettier
Nintendo's Switch 2 is getting one of the biggest video games of all time.
Minecraft

Minecraft has spent years proving that blocks can run on practically anything with a screen. On October 27, it will finally move into a home built specifically for the Nintendo Switch 2. Mojang has confirmed that the native Switch 2 version of Minecraft will launch with Vibrant Visuals enabled by default, using the newer console’s additional power to spruce up its famously square Overworld. Existing Nintendo Switch owners will also receive a digital upgrade path, though Mojang says pricing and other details will arrive later.

These blocks have been hitting the lighting tutorials

Read more
Xbox is celebrating 25 years by dressing your console in nostalgia
Xbox’s 25th birthday freebies are actually worth logging in for
Xbox 25th anniversary console

Xbox is nearing its quarter-century of oversized controllers, achievement hunting, and Halo nights. To celebrate its 25th birthday, Microsoft is letting players open a few birthday presents early. The company has released a free collection of gamerpics, profile backgrounds, themes, and a dynamic Xbox console background created by community artists Klobrille and Ben Kenobi.

The artwork is available now, ahead of the original Xbox’s 25th anniversary on November 15. Microsoft is also giving players a commemorative 25th anniversary profile badge. All you need to do is sign in to your Xbox account through a console, PC, or the Xbox mobile app before the end of 2026 to receive it.

Read more
The next Xbox may be backward compatible with every past Xbox generation, if publishers agree
A leaked memo details Microsoft's next console could play games from every Xbox generation, but there's a catch.
Xbox logo

A leaked internal memo suggests the next Xbox console, codenamed Project Helix, could play games from every generation the company has ever released. If true, that would make it the largest game library on any console, especially since it's also said to support PC games.

Backward compatibility for four console generations

Read more