The PlayStation 5 finally releases today, and if you were planning on camping out in front of your local big box retailer to try and get your hands on one, I’ve got some good(ish) news. The PS5 will not be available in any physical stores on launch day. As revealed on theofficial PlayStation blog, the console will only be available to purchase online. If you managed to successfully preorder a PS5, don’t worry - you’re able to still pick yours up in-store per the retailer’s safety protocols.
Listen, I said the news was good-ish, because it means you won’t have to fight through a ridiculous crowd while we’re still stuck in the middle of the worst pandemic of the last 100 years. You can sit in the comfort of your own socially-distanced home and just keep clicking that refresh button to try and get a PS5 delivered right to your front door. However, as anyone who tried to pre-order the hotly anticipated next-gen console already knows, trying to get one online is an extreme pain in the ass. (After hitting refresh over and over for 30 minutes, I got all the way to typing in my payment information before my PS5 simply vanished from my cart. It’s not fun.)
That said, every major retailer is going to have some consoles in stock today, so in the interest of public service I’ve collected a number of links to purchase the PS5 below. And if you don’t manage to get one this week, don’t be too bummed - major retailers will continue getting the consoles in stock throughout the holiday season (especially around Black Friday), so just keep trying your luck. Walmart has announced that it will roll out its stock on Thursday in 3-hour intervals, beginning at 12PM ET with new waves releasing at 3PM, 6PM, and 9 PM ET. At the time of this writing, it’s unclear when the other big retailers will have their stock of PS5s available, but it’s a safe bet to log on early Thursday morning and keep refreshing throughout the day. If you do manage to get a console, check out our reviews forSpider-Man: Miles MoralesandAssassins Creed: Valhallato find out which games you should pick up to take it for a spin.
