We’ve got all the details on when the PS5 is going to be back in stock

FOLLOW LIVE: PS5 stock UK – tracking live restock updates from all the major retailers

The PS5 has been out for over a year now and gamers are still struggling to get their hands on Sony’s newest console. While stock issues have plagued the PS5 ever since it launched in 2020, restocks are getting much better.

The sad tale began in November 2020, when excited gamers tore open PS5 parcels that they had pre-ordered, only to find them replaced with cat food, a George Foreman grill and a bag of grain. Whenever more PS5s were made available, they were snapped up almost immediately, with scalpers leading the charge.

In November 2021, it was reported that Sony was revising down its production of consoles from 16 million to 15 million between April 2021 and March 2022. On the PS5’s first birthday, Sony’s CEO Jim Ryan gave gamers a quick update on the stock situation in a short blog post. “We continue to see historic demand for PS5 and we understand the inventory constraints remain a source of frustration for many of our customers,” Ryan wrote. “Rest assured that we are laser-focused on doing everything in our power to ship as many units as possible, it’s something we work on every day across the company and remains my top priority. Again, we appreciate your patience as we navigate through these unprecedented global challenges.”

The availability of the PS5 was expected to improve in mid-2022, thanks to the global shortage in semiconductors, partly caused by the increased demand for electronics over the last year, but it seems like things improved a lot earlier than that.

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Since mid-April, gamers have been able to buy PS5 bundles fairly easily, with retailers like Game, BT, EE and Very having consoles consistently in stock for the last three months, so we can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel now. But we are still seeing a shortage of digital edition consoles and standalone disc edition consoles, with retailers preferring to stock consoles in a bundle.

We’ve been predicting restocks for months now, and have seen patterns emerge among the major retailers. In the months ahead, Sony expects the situation to improve, and hopefully shelves will start filling up nicely. We’ll also be updating this page with our predictions regularly and whenever we hear exactly when retailers will be stocking up once again.  

Where can you buy the PS5 right now?

As of 25 July, the PS5 is currently in stock at four different retailers, including PS Direct, Argos, Very and the BT Shop. Here they are, from cheapest to most expensive:

When will the PS5 restock in the UK?

Check stock from US PS5 retailers below:

Where to buy PS5 in the UK

Each retailer has a different schedule for when they will drop the PS5 on their website, and below we’ve rounded up all the major ones, along with the best ways to get a console when they do end up arriving.     

Amazon

Amazon last had a restock of the disc edition console on 21 June and the digital edition console on the same date. Both times, stock sold out in less than an hour. The retailer 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, which may be good at combating scalper bots in the future. It has only made the console available to Prime customers ever since.

Our top tips are:

AO

The last time AO had a PS5 restock was on 28 June. In previous drops, customers have had to perform some coding gymnastics to secure the console. When the PS5 is live, sometimes customers have to do the below, just to get it 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

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 has an in-store drop at the same time as its online drop. The last restock took place on 22 June.

Drops usually occur in the dead of the night between 1am and 5am, and go live region by region. Things have become even more messy recently, with some drops taking place at 3pm and some even as late as 6pm. You might see one city go live before yours and all you can do is refresh the page. Argos’s website isn’t the most reliable, with many gamers finding more success through the Android app.

Asda

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.

BT

Since October, only BT Broadband customers have been able to buy the console from the retailer. The retailer restocked the PS5 on 25 May, and it has been in stock ever since.

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

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.

The retailer last had a general sale restock online on 27 June.

EE

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.

More consoles dropped on 26 May, but they sold out on 20 June.

Game

Game is one of the few retailers that have started selling consoles in-store since 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).

The last online Game drop took place on 6 June. It has pretty much been in stock ever since mid-April. 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.

John Lewis & Partners

John Lewis & Partners last had a PS5 drop on 25 May. As usual with the retailer, it didn’t last very long, but it does always seem to drop between 7am and 8am.

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. When it happens, we recommend checking out via the app – people have seen more success through this method.

PlayStation Direct

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. The last restock occurred on 28 June.

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. PlayStation Direct last had a PS5 restock on 8 March.

Scan

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. The last restock took place on 13 May.

Smyths Toys

Smyths Toys last had an online restock on 25 May at 10am. 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.

Tesco

“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

The last time Very had a PS5 restock was on 28 June, with Ratchet & Clank and Horizon Forbidden West bundles in stock. Very has quickly become one of our favourite PS5 stockists, with drops lasting up to four hours.

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.

How much is the PS5?

The PS5 disc edition costs £449.99, while the PS5 digital edition is cheaper at £349.99. The standard PS5 is the exact same price as the new Xbox series X. But the Xbox series s (the all-digital edition of the Xbox series X) is cheaper than the PS5 digital edition, costing just £249. It’s not a massively fair comparison, however, seeing as the Xbox series S is a lot worse spec-wise than the series X and the digital edition PS5.

If you want more information on the differences, you can read our comparison of the Xbox series x and PS5 here.       

A number of retailers, including Game, Very, Argos, ShopTO and more are selling the PS5 bundled with games and other PS5 accessories as well.

When was the PS5 released?

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.

Can you play PS4 games on the PS5 and is the PS5 backwards compatible?

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.

Best PS5 accessories 

Whether you’re still waiting for your chance to get your hands on a PS5, or you managed to get one in a recent drop, we’ve tested and reviewed everything from the best wireless gaming headsets to the best gaming keyboards. We’ve rounded up a few of our favourites below.

Thanks to Razer’s offering, you don’t have to spend £300+ on a wireless gaming headset to get excellent in-game sound. Aimed at esports players, the headset offers superb directional audio and a superbly clear microphone ensuring your team communication is completely unimpeded.

It comes with impressive built-in noise cancellation, leaving you to concentrate on the in-game audio, and its memory foam cushions are gentle on delicate ears. While it’s plug and play with both PS4/5 and Nintendo Switch (docked), the headphones really come to life on PC with THX spatial audio where virtual surround gives you a good idea of where your enemies are lurking in supported games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Doom Eternal.

There’s not too many THX-supported games, and the feature isn’t present on console, but the audio quality is still good and the comfort is there, so this remains an excellent mid-range headset for those who play multiplayer on PC and PS4.

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Fans of the original Blackshark headset, released by Razer in 2012, should get excited about the remastered V2, which was released just last month. The V2 takes everything its predecessor mastered – amazing audio, superior mic clarity, supreme sound isolation, premium comfort – and enhances it, truly making this the gamer’s gaming headset.

For the audiophiles, the V2 offers a huge depth of customisation, from the 50mm drivers that allow individual tuning for highs, mids and lows to the soundcard and advanced mic controls that finetune the pick-up area and eliminate background noise so that you can deliver your burns loud and clear.

But the real USP is undoubtedly the superior features that come with Razer’s partnership with THX – the movie-standard audio company of George Lucas fame. Not only does this deliver a lifelike and realistic 360 degrees of sound, but you are able to create “profiles” for your favourite games. You can adjust the settings to your liking, down to the finest detail, to ensure you are able to pinpoint and track your enemies – allowing you to turn up softer sounds without overpowering the louder ones, like picking up footsteps during a chaotic firefight – while the surround sound ensures you won’t lose any of the immersive environment sounds. In layman’s terms, you hear sounds exactly where you’d expect to hear them.

That’s not to say this isn’t a great headset whether you’re on your 14th hour of Apex (which they truly are built for), roaming a vast RPG or simply listening to music or watching a video – the audio quality is top-notch. And if that doesn’t sell it to you, the lightweight design (the whole thing comes in at just 240g) and memory foam cushions suit both professional esports players who play for long periods of time as well as on-the-go audiophiles.

The V2 is the brother of the V2 X (£62.90, Razer.com), which, with much of the same features bar the soundcard and THX spatial audio, is two-thirds of the price, making for a great entry-level headset.

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For more on the PS5, why not check out our review, or our round-up of the best game consoles of 2022?