PS5 Launch Will Be Online Only

PlayStation today confirmed that all launch-day sales of the PlayStation 5 will be online-only. That means that interested parties will not, in fact, be able to visit brick-and-mortar retailers on the day of launch, November 12th or November 19th depending on the region. Online orders will continue like normal, and folks that have pre-ordered for in-store pickup should still be able to grab those under whatever protocols the specific retailer has in place like appointment times. The reason given for the significant change is COVID-19, of course.

“No units will be available in-store for purchase on launch day (November 12 or November 19, depending on your region) – please don’t plan on camping out or lining up at your local retailer on launch day in hopes of finding a PS5 console for purchase,” the official PlayStation blog post from Sid Shuman, Senior Director, SIE Content Communications, reads in part. “Be safe, stay home, and place your order online.”

Basically, don’t expect to find any of these units on retailers shelves come launch. If you can snag one online, however, it seems like that process essentially hasn’t changed regardless of whether you order for in-store pickup or shipped elsewhere. No camping out in front of, say, GameStop however goes a long way to decreasing the possible social distancing as we head into launch, so this feels like a good move on Sony’s part.

The PlayStation 5 is set to release on November 12th in the United States and November 19th globally, with the version containing a disc drive running $499 while the all-digital console will cost $399. Pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 are… live-ish, if you can find one. You can check out all of our previous coverage of PlayStation here.

What do you think about the new Playstation 5 launch plans? Do you already have a pre-order in? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!