PS5 Sales Will Be Online Only

The ongoing pandemic has made life quite difficult for people all across the globe, and it has even affected the joy of gamers, who will not able to visit physical stores to purchase the upcoming PlayStation 5 console. Sony shared a new blog post today that confirms that the PlayStation 5 will not available for walk-in purchase. "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," the blog post reads.

"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. Be safe, stay home, and place your order online," the blog post suggested.

If you've preordered your console through retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, GameStop, or Target, you'll still be able to visit the store and pick up your console. However, Sony is doing its part in reminding players of the ongoing situation and to prevent unnecessary queues outside physical retail stores.

Walmart also shared a tweet that explained how the retailer plans to have four sale windows on the console's launch day at 12 PM, 3 PM, 6 PM, and 9 PM.

Although Sony has stated that the upcoming PlayStation 5 will be only available via online stores, it is highly unlikely that the console will hit store shelves for quite some time even after launch day. The demand for the new console is sky-high, and units have likely already been spoken for through pre-orders.

On the contrary, Microsoft hasn't issued any such statement despite the Xbox Series X/S launching earlier than the PS5. However, online retailers like Best Buy and Walmart are informing fans via social media that the consoles can only be purchased online.

The PlayStation 5 is releasing on November 12.