Unless you've been living under a rock these past few months, by now you'll be more than aware that the PS5 has gotten off to a rather good start to life. So good, in fact, that it's lead to worldwide shortages of the console. Since then, even major stock drops have rarely survived longer than the first ten minutes' worth of customers have managed to grab a console, with scalpers profiting and tens of thousands of disappointed gamers around the globe.
At Gaming Deals, we've helped thousands of you secure next gen consoles, be it the PS5 or the almost-as-scarce Xbox Series X, since they launched at the end of 2020. However, we know that there's plenty of you still out there desperately trying to get your hands on one. Don't forget to head over to our PS5 bundle page to see all the latest news on stock and find out the best channels with which to get the most up-to-the-minute updates. We're also rounding up the latest stock news and rumours here.
Some of the questions we get most frequently are which retailers tend to have the most stock, how frequently are they re-stocking, and when do they tend to release their stock. While we do our best to cover these stock drops as they happen, we thought we'd be able to use our unrivalled access to the UK gaming market to create a full timeline of PS5 stock releases, in the hopes that it'll help gamers better anticipate when they might next see some stock. For the sake of ease, we’ve only included stock drops where there was a clear change in a company’s website indicating stock - we’ve seen hundreds of single orders at random points, but we’ve restricted this timeline to only show when there was a real opportunity for users to buy a console.
To save you a lot of scrolling, you can access the timeline for specific months via the following links:
September - October - November - December - January - February - March
September
Sony announce final details for the PS5’s launch, including launch prices and the console’s release date. They also announce pre-orders will be going live on the following day. However, that doesn’t stop several retailers launching almost as soon as the Sony presentation is over.
September 16 2020
Retailer: GAME
Time: 11pm - 2am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large (pre-order)
Retailer: Amazon
Time: 11pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium (pre-order)
September 17 2020
Retailer: AO
Time: 12am - 2am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small (pre-order)
Retailer: Go2Games
Time: 12am - 2am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small (pre-order)
Retailer: Scan Computers
Time: 10pm - 8am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large (pre-order)
September 18 2020
Retailer: Very
Time: 12pm - 1pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large (pre-order)
September 19 2020
Retailer: Hughes
Time: 7am - 8am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small (pre-order)
September 24 2020
Retailer: GAME
Time: 2pm - 5pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium (pre-order)
Retailer: Laptop Outlet
Time: 8pm - 9:30pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small (pre-order)
September 25 2020
Retailer: GAME
Time: 10am - 12pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large (pre-order)
Retailer: Argos
Time: 12am - 1am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium (pre-order)
Retailer: Very
Time: 10:30am - 11am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large (pre-order)
September 30 2020
Retailer: GAME
Time: 9:30am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium (pre-order)
October
With the pre-order flurry over and still a month until the launch of the PS5, October proved a tough month for console hunters. There were very limited opportunities to grab a console, a situation that was exacerbated as news in the UK suggested the country was headed for another national lockdown, driving more people to try and get a console. Any stock drops we did see were for the Standard Edition, with the cheaper Digital Edition completely unavailable pre-order, reflecting Sony prioritising the manufacturing of the disc-drive model.
October 5 2020
Retailer: GAME
Time: 9:20pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium (pre-order)
October 27 2020
Retailer: GAME
Time: 9:30am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small (pre-order)
November
November arrived with fresh promise for PS5 stock, with the hope being that Sony would make a new batch of consoles available worldwide to coincide with the console launch on November 12th. To date, November was the biggest month for UK PS5 stock, with the most consoles available and national media coverage of the shortages of stock driving people to sites such as Gaming Deals to help improve their chances of getting a console.
November 6 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: 12:30am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium (pre-order)
November 10 2020
Retailer: ShopTo
Time: 10pm
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small (pre-order)
November 12 2020
Retailer: ShopTo
Time: 7:30pm
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Argos
Time: 5:30am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
November 15 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: 6:30am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
November 19 2020
November 19th, one week after the console officially launched, was the most significant day of stock we’ve yet seen for the PS5. Numerous retailers had at least some stock, and several had what we’d class as large drops.
Retailer: Argos
Time: 6:30am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 6am - 8am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: GAME
Time: 12pm - 1pm, 9pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: Very
Time: 11am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: Tesco
Time: 12:30pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
November 20 2020
The stock from the 19th continued through the end of November, albeit in a more limited fashion.
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the morning
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 7:30pm - 9pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: GAME
Time: 10am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Maplin
Time: 9am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: ShopTo
Time: 8pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Tesco
Time: 6am, 9pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Very
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
November 22 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: 2:30am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 8pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Tesco
Time: 3pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Very
Time: 6pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
November 23 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the morning
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 1pm, 4:30pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Tesco
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
November 24 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Tesco
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
November 25 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
November 26 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Tesco
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
November 27 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: ShopTo
Time: Throughout the afternoon
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Very
Time: Throughout the afternoon
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
November 28 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
November 29 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: 5am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Tesco
Time: 8am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Very
Time: 8:30am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
November 30 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: 3pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: GAME
Time: 1pm, 8pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Very
Time: 7pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December
Into December, stock remained fairly frequent, but the regularity of major drops like we saw the week after the console launched diminished considerably after the start of the month. Now, in order to get a console, customers needed to be super vigilant and ready to seize upon any opportunity, as stock came in and out in a matter of seconds.
December 2 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: 7pm, 10:30pm
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
December 3 2020
December 3rd was, after November 19th, the second largest single day of PS5 stock we've seen, with several retailers releasing stock.
Retailer: Amazon
Time: 12pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 12pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: GAME
Time: 12pm - 1pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: Smyths
Time: Throughout the morning
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
December 4 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Tesco
Time: 1:30pm
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
December 5 2020
Retailer: eBay (a certified new console sold by a verified and reputable store seller)
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December 6 2020
Retailer: eBay (a certified new console sold by a verified and reputable store seller)
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December 7 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
December 8 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Tesco
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December 10 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December 12 2020
Retailer: Tesco
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December 13 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December 14 2020
Retailer: Amazon
Time: 12pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 12pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Smyths
Time: Throughout the morning
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
December 18 2020
Retailer: Argos
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
January
A very quiet end to 2020 was followed by a relatively slow January for stock. We saw a lot more very brief windows of stock - most likely failed orders and cancellation being put up for grabs - with only a small number of significant re-stocks.
January 5 2021
Retailer: Tesco
Time: Throughout the day
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
January 19 2021
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 11am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: GAME
Time: 10am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
Retailer: Smyths
Time: Throughout the morning
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
January 20 2021
Retailer: Amazon
Time: 12pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
Retailer: Currys PC World
Time: 10am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: eBay (a certified new console sold by a verified and reputable store seller)
Time: 12pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
January 21 2021
Retailer: GAME
Time: 10am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
January 25 2021
Retailer: Argos
Time: 6pm
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
February
After scarce stock in January, hopes were high that the UK would finally begin to see some bigger stock drops for the PS5.
February 9 2021
Retailer: GAME
Time: 1:30pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: Tesco
Time: 9pm
Models: PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
February 11 2021
Retailer: AO
Time: 4pm
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: GAME
Time: 8:30am, 10:30am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
February 23 2021
Retailer: GAME
Time: 9:45am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
March
March 3 2021
Retailer: GAME
Time: 9:45am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
March 9 2021
Retailer: John Lewis
Time: 5:00am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
March 10 2021
Retailer: Very
Time: 10:00am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Medium
March 11 2021
Retailer: GAME
Time: 9:20am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
March 17 2021
Retailer: Amazon
Time: 9:00am
Models: PS5 Standard Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
Retailer: AO
Time: 10:00am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Small
March 24 2021
Retailer: GAME
Time: 9:30am
Models: Both PS5 Standard Edition and PS5 Digital Edition
Estimated stock drop size: Large
