How to Record Gameplay on PS5 (Up to 4K)

In this article, I'm going to show you how to record gameplay directly on your PS5, in up to 4K quality as long as your monitor and settings support it. By the end, you'll know the two ways to record, the exact settings to change for 4K, and how to record for longer than one hour.

Which method you use depends on what you need. One saves a moment after it happens. The other records on purpose, from the start.

Before You Start: Boot Up a Game

You can't record the home screen, so load a game first. Then press the Create button on your controller (it sits by the D-pad). A menu appears at the bottom with three options:

• Save recent gameplay
• Take screenshot
• Start new recording

Method 1: Save Recent Gameplay

This is the easiest option, and it's how I record a lot of my own gaming content. Something happens, you weren't thinking about recording, and you want that clip so you can post it later.

When you choose Save recent gameplay, you can save:

• The last 15 seconds
• The last 30 seconds
• The last minute
• The last 3 minutes
• The last 5 minutes
• The last 15 minutes
• The last 30 minutes

It only goes back as far as you've been playing. If you haven't been in the game for 3 minutes, you can't save a 3-minute clip. I'll often grab the last 30 minutes after a long session where a lot happened, then edit it down.

Anything you save goes to your Media Gallery, along with your screenshots.

Set Up 4K Before You Record

If you want to plan a recording and capture it in 4K, adjust your settings first. Press the home button, go to Settings, then Screen and Video.

• Look at Resolution. 2160p is 4K.
• If you don't see 2160p there, you won't get the 4K recording option on your PS5.
• If you want 4K, switch the resolution to 2160p.

Check Your Capture Settings

Next, go to Captures and Broadcasts, then Captures.

• Make sure your captures are set to go to the Media Gallery.
• Auto Upload is worth turning on if you want to download clips on your phone. It automatically uploads your manually created screenshots and video clips to the PlayStation app when your PS5 is connected to the internet. They stay available for 14 days.

Pick Your Video Clip Format

Open Video Clip Format. This is where the important choices are.

• MP4: the most compatible format. If you download a clip straight to your phone, it works.
• WebM: when you set Manual Recording Resolution to 4K, the format changes to WebM. It's the most efficient but not the most compatible, so you may need to bring it into editing software before you can edit it.

The 4K option only shows up in Manual Recording Resolution because the console resolution is set to 4K. If you're not worried about 4K, keep it at 1080 and use MP4.

You'll also decide whether to include your mic audio and your party audio in the recording.

Method 2: Start a New Recording

This is for when you sit down planning to record, like showing someone something you learned in a game.

1. Load your game.
2. Press the Create button.
3. Choose Start new recording. It starts from zero.
4. When you're done, press Create again and choose Stop recording.

A single recording can run up to one hour. After an hour it stops automatically, and you can start another one to keep going. Your recording saves to your media library, where you can share it, edit it, add it to favorites, or delete it.

How to Record for More Than One Hour

You can't go past an hour with a normal recording, but there's a workaround. Press Create, choose Broadcast, and live stream to YouTube. Set the privacy to Unlisted, then go live.

It records for as long as you want, whether that's three, four or five hours, and saves directly to your YouTube channel. From there you can download it. You'll need your YouTube account linked to your PS5 first.

Edit Your Gameplay on the PS5

You don't need a PC to edit. You can edit your gameplay directly on your PS5 using the ShareFactory tool.

Quick Recap

• Boot a game first. You can't record the home screen.
• Press Create for Save recent gameplay, Take screenshot or Start new recording.
• For 4K: set Resolution to 2160p, then set Manual Recording Resolution to 4K. Expect WebM.
• One recording runs up to one hour. Use an Unlisted YouTube live stream to go longer.

Next Step: Learn the Content Side of Streaming

Now that you understand the streaming side, which is the technical setup, the next step is understanding the content side. Going live is only half of it. Content is how people actually find you, and that's what I teach inside The Streamer Academy Pro™.

If you want to learn how to become a full-time streamer, and it's not luck, check out The Streamer Academy Pro™  to learn the content side of streaming.