How to compress your PS5 Games to save space and Extract PKGs / FPKGs (PS5 Emu Guide)
Hello. Since PS5 Emulation is relatively new, I've been looking for something like this myself, and finally found how to both Convert PKGs and Compress them into .ZARs to save storage. I decided to write a small guide to help anyone who might have issues with it, considering the wave of KytyPS5 forks and advancements.
TLDR: ZArchive can be used to decrease PS5 dumps size by ~60% while maintaining full compatibility with KytyPS5 and its forks.
1. Extracting PKGs to Dump format
First of all, Retail PKGs cannot be extracted using this tool. You will need a Debug PKG (FPKG) which annoyingly uses the same file extension (.pkg).
The tool I used was PS5 PKG TOOL. Select the folder with your FPKG, select the game in the list, click "Tools" and choose the "Extract" action.
Selecting \"Extract\" using a FPKG (Debug PKG)
The process will start. It took around 10 minutes for me with Astro's Playroom. In the end, the game will appear as an extracted folder in the same location as the original PKG.
That dump can already be used in PS5 emulators to play the game, but they will be huge in size. That's where step 2 comes in.
2. Compressing game dumps to ZAR
The .ZAR format was also used in ShadPS4, which has a native function for it, but currently you need to do it manually for KytyPS5.
It is a very simple process. The tool needed is called ZArchive (not the android app). Simply download the 2 MB executable, then drag your game (in Dump/Folder format) into it.
After dragging the dump into zarchive.exe
The process will start. This one takes a bit longer, taking 21 minutes for Astro's Playroom. In the end, a .ZAR file should appear in the same location as the ZArchive executable was in.
This process saves a significant amount of storage space. In my case, it took Astro's Playroom from 29.2 GB down to 12.7 GB, a decrease of about 57%.
Compression result (21min)
After doing this, you can simply select the folder your .ZAR games are located in any KytyPS5 fork, and it should recognize it and start normally.
In case you prefer, here's a video guide (with English subtitles) for each process. Neither video includes links to sources for obtaining games.
1. youtu.be
2. youtu.be
Hope this guide was helpful!
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How to compress your PS5 Games to save space and Extract PKGs / FPKGs (PS5 Emu Guide) Hello. Since PS5 Emulation is relatively new, I've been looking for something like this myself, and finally found how to both Convert PKGs and Compress them into .ZARs to save storage. I decided to write a small guide to help anyone who might have issues with it, considering the wave of KytyPS5 forks and advancements. TLDR: ZArchive can be used to decrease PS5 dumps size by ~60% while maintaining full compatibility with KytyPS5 and its forks. 1. Extracting PKGs to Dump format First of all, Retail PKGs cannot be extracted using this tool. You will need a Debug PKG (FPKG) which annoyingly uses the same file extension (.pkg). The tool I used was PS5 PKG TOOL. Select the folder with your FPKG, select the game in the list, click "Tools" and choose the "Extract" action. Selecting \"Extract\" using a FPKG (Debug PKG) The process will start. It took around 10 minutes for me with Astro's Playroom. In the end, the game will appear as an extracted folder in the same location as the original PKG. That dump can already be used in PS5 emulators to play the game, but they will be huge in size. That's where step 2 comes in. 2. Compressing game dumps to ZAR The .ZAR format was also used in ShadPS4, which has a native function for it, but currently you need to do it manually for KytyPS5. It is a very simple process. The tool needed is called ZArchive (not the android app). Simply download the 2 MB executable, then drag your game (in Dump/Folder format) into it. After dragging the dump into zarchive.exe The process will start. This one takes a bit longer, taking 21 minutes for Astro's Playroom. In the end, a .ZAR file should appear in the same location as the ZArchive executable was in. This process saves a significant amount of storage space. In my case, it took Astro's Playroom from 29.2 GB down to 12.7 GB, a decrease of about 57%. Compression result (21min) After doing this, you can simply select the folder your .ZAR games are located in any KytyPS5 fork, and it should recognize it and start normally. In case you prefer, here's a video guide (with English subtitles) for each process. Neither video includes links to sources for obtaining games. 1. youtu.be 2. youtu.be Hope this guide was helpful!