PlayStation 5 will not be available to purchase in-store on launch day

By Giovanni Colantonio Published November 11, 2020

Sony announced that PlayStation 5 will no longer be available for in-store purchase on launch day. The next-generation console will only be available to purchase online.

“In the interest of keeping our gamers, retailers, and staff safe amidst COVID-19, today we are confirming that all day-of launch sales will be conducted through the online stores of our retail partners,” says a blog post from Sony.

Recommended Videos

The company says that no retailers will be selling PlayStation 5’s in-store when the console launches on November 12 in the U.S. or November 19 in other regions. Sony urged fans not to camp out or form early lines at stores, which is common during new console launches.

Sony notes that fans “should” still be able to pick up any pre-ordered consoles from local retailers at a designated appointment time, though they urge fans to check with their retailer directly to confirm. A recent Target ad echoed the move to online-only sales, confirming that the console is still available for order pick-ups in-store and via drive up.

The announcement comes as COVID-19 continues to surge in the U.S., with daily cases now topping 100,000. On several occasions throughout the year, Sony reaffirmed that the pandemic will not affect the PlayStation 5’s launch date plans. At the moment, Microsoft has not announced plans to take the same online-only route with the Xbox Series X and Series S.

Fans looking to purchase a PlayStation 5 digitally will luckily have more opportunities to do so before the year ends. Best Buy recently confirmed that the console will be available to purchase online during its upcoming Black Friday sale.

Giovanni Colantonio

Senior Gaming Editor

As Digital Trends' Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…

Topics

Gaming

The Witcher 4 runs at 60 FPS and has ray-tracing even on the base PlayStation 5

Ciri wielding a burning chain in The Witcher 4.

At the State of Unreal 2025 event, CDProjekt Red revealed the first real look at The Witcher 4 gameplay. While it was a limited demo primarily focused on the improvements to Unreal Engine 5, we did get a solid look at how the game runs, even on a base PlayStation 5, and all the small ways tweaks and optimizations have been applied to make the game look as good as it does.

And that's the biggest takeaway from the demo: it looks really good. The presentation opened with a new trailer for the game, showing a rather grumpy merchant in a wagon traveling down a bumpy road, only to have his journey cut short by the appearance of a Manticore. Ciri later finds the remnants of the attack, and then we see a smooth transition from cutscene to gameplay.

Gaming

PlayStation State of Play June 2025: How to watch and what to expect

Two samura face off in

E3 may be long dead and buried, but its spirit still lives on every June. This week is a loaded one for video game showcases, as we'll get Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase, and more streaming over the next few days. Now you can add one more must-watch showcase to your radar: PlayStation's State of Play.

Tomorrow, June 4, Sony will give fans a major update on what's coming to PS5 with a sizable stream. That's great news, because the back half of Sony's year is a bit of a mystery right now beyond two or three major games. What else in store for PS5 owners this year? Here's all the information you need so you can catch the show. And if you can't watch it live, stay tuned to Digital Trends, as we'll keep you updated on all the big news.

Gaming

3 new PlayStation Plus games to play this weekend (May 30-June 1)

Key art for Destiny 2: The Final Shape. It shows three characters standing in front of an orange sky.

Under normal circumstances, we would have to wait until next week to get our drop of new PlayStation Plus games, but this is a special occasion. We're currently right at the start of the Days of Play event where Sony celebrates with tons of community events and huge discounts on PS5 games and accessories. The icing on the cake is that we're not only getting four new games for Essential members, but an additional four for Extra and two more for Premium, with several already available. That's a lot to keep up with if you weren't prepared for it, which is where I come in. We will have to wait for most of the games until Tuesday, but here are a few new games you can start playing over this weekend to start the celebrations early.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape