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This is where you can find the console in stock in 2024, from the cheapest bundles to the most expensive
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It’s official, the PlayStation 5 stock shortage has finally come to an end, meaning that you can now readily find a console bundle in stock pretty much everywhere in the UK.
That said, it’s still rare to find the disc or digital edition console being sold on its own, without any games or accessories. Most retailers are selling the PS5 in a bundle, though we have spotted some standalone consoles being sold by a handful of retailers. And we can’t forget that the company hiked up the console’s price in the summer.
Last August, PlayStation announced that it would be taking the unprecedented decision of increasing the price of both the PS5 disc and digital edition consoles by £30, blaming the “challenging economic environment”.
While every retailer is selling the PS5 disc edition console for £479.99 and £389.99 for the PS5 digital edition console, we’re now starting to see deals on the standalone machine, as well as bundle deals.
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You don’t really need to worry about PS5 restocks anymore, considering the PS5 is always in stock now that the shortage has finished. But for posterity’s sake, below we’ve rounded up all the hoops you had to climb through in order to get a PS5 in the before times.
Amazon usually releases the PS5 disc edition before the PS5 digital edition, so be aware if you see one go live before the other. On 14 July 2021, Amazon made the console exclusively available to Prime members for the first time, then removed this restriction in early 2023 as stock became more readily available.
During previous drops at AO, customers have had to perform some coding gymnastics to secure the console. This isn’t necessary anymore, with demand for the console lower.
For posterity’s sake, here is what customers had to do to get the console into their basket. It takes a bit of effort, but many people have seen success using it when the console is live but showing “out of stock”. Note: This will only work when the PS5 product page is live on AO, and you’ll need to be using Google Chrome.
You can test this out with any item on AO’s website if you want a bit of practice before the next drop. AO usually drops stock between 9am and 11am in the morning. It’s expected to only have bundles in stock this time round.
Argos is one of a handful of retailers that have started allowing people to walk into its stores and order a PS5 console right from one of its tablets, but this can only be done when stock becomes available during a restock. It usually makes the console available online for people to buy with click and collect, with home delivery being a rarity.
Drops used to occur in the dead of the night between 1am and 5am, and go live region by region, but that seems to have changed as the stock situation subsides. Stock can drop at any time of the day now.
The last drop at Asda took place on 26 April and stock sold out within minutes. This was the second time Asda sold a PS5 bundle, which included Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7. Drops usually take place between 8am and 9am. Asda isn’t the easiest retailer to secure a console from, but we do have a few tips.
Make sure to have all your payment details saved ahead of time and that you’ve added the console to your wish list. Sometimes you aren’t able to check out from the main PS5 landing page, but you are able to check out from your wish list.
Since October 2021, only BT Broadband customers have been able to buy the console from the retailer. The retailer restocked the PS5 on 25 May, and it remained in stock until 13 October 2022 – a whole five months without selling out.
You need an access code to buy the console. If you’re a BT Broadband customer, this can be found on your MyBT portal. Just log in, scroll down to the “Your Offers” section and click on the PS5.
You can also register your interest on the BT website. You’ll receive an email containing an access code that will take you directly to the order page where you can buy a PS5 when it goes live. It’s basically the same method as above, but with less steps. You’ll need your account details for both.
Currys used to use a PS5 VIP priority pass lottery to dish out its consoles in a fair way. Those selected would have five days to buy the console using a unique code, with redeemers receiving a call a few weeks later. The lottery ended at the start of June 2021, but people were still receiving codes up to the beginning of December 2021. Since then, general sale restocks have been happening frequently, with drops taking place several times a month and lasting days. This is usually because Currys stocks the most expensive bundles out of all the retailers.
Only EE customers are able to buy a PS5 from the retailer, with eligible customers needing to be on a 12-month or longer contract. The network provider only sells the PS5 disc edition console (£40 a month for 11 months), but it also sells a bunch of different bundles.
Game is one of the few retailers that have started selling consoles in-store, starting in June 2021. The retailer now runs a pre-order waiting list system. If you pop into your local Game, you can ask to be put on the list and you’ll get a call if you’ve been allocated a PS5.
The last time we checked, Game had the largest number of PS5 bundles out of all the retailers. The cheapest disc edition bundle came with a “Player1” T-shirt (£464.98, Game.co.uk). The most expensive disc bundle came with a dual sense controller and a pulse 3D gaming headset (£599.97, Game.co.uk).
At the start of June 2021, Game listed new Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart bundles on its website. A PS5 disc edition with a copy of Rift Apart cost £519.98 (Game.co.uk).
Game has pretty much had stock available online since mid-April 2022. The retailer added new Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West bundles on 10 March, with new digital edition bundles being added on 19 May. Game updates its PS5 bundles page with new release dates every few weeks, so it’s a good link to bookmark. It increased its prices by £30 on 26 August.
John Lewis & Partners restocks the console very infrequently, usually once every six to eight weeks. Restocks don’t tend to last very long, but they do always seem to drop between 7am and 8am in the morning. Restocks have been lasting longer since the retailer started bundling the console with other accessories and games, bumping up the price.
The retailer only appears to get a couple of thousand consoles or less each time new stock comes in, so we’re not expecting anything big the next time there’s a drop of the standalone console. When it happens, we recommend checking out via the app – people have seen more success through this method.
On 10 November, The official Sony PlayStation Direct store launched in the UK for the first time. The website sells the console, accessories and more. The retailers’ first ever UK drop took place on 15 November at 10am.
Sony employs a queuing system, similar to most retailers, but it’s not first come first served, so everyone has a fair chance of securing the console no matter what time you entered the waiting room. The digital edition console usually sells out before the disc edition console.
Scan had one of the weirdest PS5 restocks we’ve ever seen on 10 September. It made a console bundle, which included a PS5 digital edition bundle with two dualsense controllers, a charging station and a pulse 3D wireless headset (£534.38, Scan.co.uk) available to buy through its live chat system. We first thought this was the new way retailers were trying to stop scalpers from stealing all the consoles, but Scan eventually went back to its normal restock pattern.
It waited more than seven months between that strange drop and its next one on 21 April 2022, when it released Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West bundles. Restocks now take place fairly frequently.
Smyths Toys usually has one or two restocks every month. Like Argos and Game, Smyths Toys has begun accepting in-store pre-orders. People are currently able to walk into their local Smyths Toys store and ask for a PS5, but only when a drop is taking place.
Smyths isn’t the easiest retailer to secure online stock from, with consoles usually being pick-up only. Its website doesn’t always show the PS5 as being in stock on the website either, with the retailer neglecting to update the product page.
“Where the heck is the Tesco PS5 restock?” we hear you cry. The last time Tesco had a restock was on 15 March 2021. It’s been so long that PS5 stock trackers have stopped predicting Tesco drops altogether, since they never materialise.
The last rumoured date for a Tesco drop was 2 June 2021, with stock trackers claiming that it received a shipment in late May 2021. The retailer may potentially have a huge batch of consoles and is just waiting for the perfect time to release them. It’s the longest a single retailer has gone without a drop.
Very is one of the most reliable retailers when it comes to PS5 stock drops. It has pretty much had stock available to buy since the start of May 2022, with Ratchet & Clank and Horizon Forbidden West bundles featuring widely. The retailer increased its prices by £30 on 26 August.
Our top tip for Very is not to leave the queue when stock goes live, or you will have to queue up again. The same goes for refreshing the page – don’t do it, no matter how tempting it is to press that button! Stock usually drops between 9am and 10am in the morning.
The PS5 disc edition used to cost £449.99 and the PS5 digital edition used to cost £359.99, but as of 25 August, Sony has increased these prices by £30. The PS5 is now more expensive than the Xbox series X, costing £479.99 vs the series X’s £449.99. The digital edition PS5 now costs £389.99, that’s significantly more expensive than the Xbox series S, which still costs £249.99. If you want more information on the differences, you can read our comparison of the Xbox series x and PS5, which has all the details.
On 19 May, Sony released its first official PS5 bundle package, and it is now the console bundle that most retailers opt for when they restock the next-gen machine. It comes with Horizon Forbidden West. Sadly, this bundle has also increased by £30, and costs either £439.99 for the digital edition console or £529.99 for the disc edition console. Some retailers are still selling the standalone console and bundles for the old price, and we’ve highlighted which ones above.
The PS5 was released on 19 November 2020 in the UK and sold out instantly. Some of the people who pre-ordered the console on Amazon found themselves greeted with not a shiny new PS5, but a bag of grain, a grill or some cat food instead. Despite being out for more than a year now, the PS5 is still extremely difficult to find.
You sure can! The overwhelming majority of the PS4 games you own are playable on the PS5. You’ll be able to download any games you bought through the PlayStation store on your PS4 and play them on the next-gen console.
If you’ve got the disc edition of the PS5, you’ll also be able to insert your PS4 discs into it and play them that way, too. Obviously, because there’s no physical disc slot on the digital edition of the console, you won’t be able to play any PS4 discs you own. We’ve compiled a list of our favourite PS4 games, and most of them have dropped in price since the PS5 came out.
Not as hard as it once was. In April 2022, retailers started to restock PS5 consoles on a regular basis, starting with BT, Game and EE. These restocks would continue for days on end. Over the course of the summer, more retailers, including Argos, ShopTo and Studio joined them, and now it’s pretty easy to find a PS5 bundle in stock. That said, the PS5 on its own, without any accessories, is still a nightmare to secure. Restocks are rare, with most choosing to bundle the console with a game or other accessories, upping the price and charging a premium.
For discounts on gaming products and offers on consoles, try the links below:
Find the best Virgin Media broadband deals with Independent compare
For more on the PS5, why not check out our review?
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