Skip to main content

Sony opens up PlayStation 5 pre-orders to select players

Sony’s PlayStation 5 may not have an official launch date or price, but at least some would-be owners are getting an express pass to pre-order the tech giant’s next-generation console.

Sony is sending PlayStation 5 pre-order invitations on Thursday to players based on their “previous interests and PlayStation activities.” Those who are selected for the program will receive an email invitation to pre-order the console. Those who don’t receive an email will not be able to participate in the program, and there’s no sign-up page where people can apply for the invite.

In an FAQ page Sony published to its PlayStation page on Thursday, the company said the pre-order opportunity will provide players with the option to buy one PlayStation 5 or one PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. They can also pre-order up to two DualSense controllers, two DualSense charging stations, and two Pulse 3D wireless headsets. Two media remotes and two HD cameras can also be pre-ordered through the offer.

Sony said that players won’t be required to pre-order all of that equipment. And they’ll need to make their selections within a set amount of time, as dictated in the email. Quantities are limited for the offer, so Sony said players who receive invites will want to move quickly. The hardware must be shipped to a U.S. address: The offer isn’t available to anyone living internationally.

While Sony’s program appears to be an attempt to ensure loyal PlayStation gamers have access to its new console, plenty of questions abound. The invites won’t share PlayStation 5 pricing or availability information, and it’s unclear how much of a head start (if any) those who receive the invites may have. Ultimately, it appears Sony is simply reserving a number of consoles and hardware for the group to maximize their chances of getting a console on day one.

Sony has yet to share its PlayStation 5 launch date and has so far stuck to a holiday 2020 time frame. Whenever the PlayStation 5 launches, look for it to be a bit more expensive than the discless Digital Edition. An exact price point is still unknown.

For its part, Microsoft has said that its Xbox Series X will be available this November.

Editors' Recommendations

Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger is a freelance technology, video game, and entertainment journalist. He has been writing about the world of…
PlayStation State of Play returns this week, will feature 14 PS5 games
Three colorful PS5s float together in a line.

PlayStation will kick off the summer of digital video game reveal streams this week with a State of Play broadcast. The stream will take place at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 30.

State of Play is one of Sony's primary livestream presentation formats. It tends to be slightly shorter than the company's flagship stream, the PlayStation Showcase. This State of Play is a significant one, though, as Sony's slate of first-party games for 2024 is entirely unknown at this stage. This stream should shed some light on what's coming later this year.

Read more
All XDefiant guns and how to unlock them
Xdefiant gun

XDefiant is a fast-paced first-person shooter with a wide variety of gun types to choose from, giving you a ton of choices on how to build your loadouts. Whether you're a run-and-gun kind of person or prefer to sit back and pop foes from afar, you'll find that there's something here that fits your playstyle. However, you'll need to first unlock most of the guns by completing challenges, and some of them can require playing a specific way for a bit. When you're ready to do that, here's how to unlock every gun in XDefiant.
Assault Rifles
There are currently five assault rifles available in XDefiant. These excel in medium- to long-range gunfights, but can also perform relatively well up close.

AK-47 - Deal 4,000 damage with assault rifles
ACR 6.8 - Get 10 Longshot kills with assault rifles
M16A4 - Get 20 headshot kills with assault rifles
M4A1 - Unlocked automatically
MDR - Reach tier 10 in the Preseason Battle Pass (free)

Read more
I would buy a PlayStation Portal 2 if it had this one feature
A Pulse Elite, DualSense, and PlayStation Portal sit on a table.

I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the PlayStation Portal since it launched. Initially, I was disappointed by Sony's cloud streaming device. I was impressed with its screen and appreciated its DualSense integration, but its slimmeddown features made it feel like a cheap version of a good idea. I've since learned to find a use case for my PlayStation Portal that turned it into an integral part of my gaming setup. It's very imperfect, but that doesn't mean it's not useful.

Ever since its launch, I've been hoping for a refreshed follow-up, whether that be a Pro model or a true PlayStation Portal 2. It may be way too early to start discussing that considering that the Portal just launched in November 2023, but the promising device has enough glaring flaws that I'd welcome a fast-tracked successor. If Sony were to make a PlayStation Portal 2, though, there's one feature that's nonnegotiable: Bluetooth.

Read more