Availability of PlayStation 5 consoles appears to be improving following last week’s restock bonanza from Target, GameStop, Best Buy and Amazon. It’s still a challenge to get a PS5, but we’re here to help.

This week appears to be a slow week as retailers restocked their PS5 inventory in time for Memorial Day sales. There’s still a chance that one may have a surprise restock, but it seems unlikely. We’re waiting to see if Amazon will come through with some PS5 consoles for its Prime Day sales event that’s happening June 21 to June 22.

Check back often for the latest PS5 restock information, and read on for advice.

Why is it hard to find a PlayStation 5?

Sony’s newest console is still hard to find seven months after its launch. Contributing to the difficulty is the fact that scalpers are using bots — and the global chip shortage continues. Sony says it’s aware of the problem and is figuring out a solution.

“We’re working as hard as we can to ameliorate that situation,” Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan told Wired on May 12. “We see production ramping up over the summer and certainly into the second half of the year, and we would hope to see some sort of return to normality in terms of the balance between supply and demand during that period.”

This monster machine is a hot item in 2021.
Dan Ackerman/CNET

Here’s a list of recent restocks in order to get an idea of when retailers will get more PS5s:

Target, May 27: We were waiting for weeks for Target’s restock to happen. Unfortunately, the consoles sold out pretty quickly. Amazon, May 26: After almost a month of no PS5s, Amazon came through with a large drop of disc consoles. Best Buy, May 23: PS5s were in stock at Best Buy, but only for a short period of time. PlayStation Direct, May 20: Sony’s PlayStation Direct site has a unique way of handling restocks, putting customers in a digital queue before making its inventory available. See below on how this works and why this could be your best bet for getting a PS5. Walmart, May 20: Bigger retailers like Walmart are trying to prevent bots from buying all their stock, but it doesn’t appear to be working. One thing to remember with Walmart is that it will release inventory in waves, so it pays to keep refreshing.

How do I get a PS5 from Sony’s PlayStation Direct?

The store with the most frequent PS5 restocks is still PlayStation Direct, where drops often take place in the afternoon and require people to queue up for a chance to buy a console. If you don’t get one at the time, it still helps to join the queue, as some patient and lucky customers may receive a priority access email directly from Sony. The company hasn’t provided all the details about these PS Direct emails, but you must sign up for Sony marketing emails and have a PS Plus subscription — and you must be logged in to your PSN account. If luck is on your side, then there’s a chance Sony will send you an invite to buy a PS5.

When you’re in a queue, one thing to be aware of is how much time it says you have before you get to the front of the line. The shorter, the better, but it’s not a guarantee. To help your chances, once you’re in a queue, share the link to your other devices like a mobile phone. Make sure each device uses a different IP address — such as having your phone on its mobile plan while your computer uses your home Wi-Fi. This can improve your chances, as your other device might be put into a different queue that moves at a faster pace. Even if you don’t get a PS5, as mentioned earlier, you still could get a pass to buy one on the next go around.

What are some tips on finding a PS5?

While major retailers like Walmart, GameStop, Amazon, Target and Best Buy don’t usually give much notice ahead of a restock, your best chance of scoring a PS5 is to log on right when inventory drops. Even then, nothing is guaranteed, but there are ways to improve your chances.

First tip: Don’t wait until you see an alert for a PS5 inventory drop. Check the links at major retailers for stock updates daily or even multiple times a day. (We’ve got them all lined up below.) If you do happen upon some PS5 availability, go all-in with as many browsers and devices as possible. On a desktop, for example, open the retailer’s page in Chrome, Firefox and Edge. Then do the same on your phone and tablet. The more devices and browsers, the better. It’s like with lottery tickets: The more you have, the better your chances of winning.

Second tip: Create accounts at the different retailers and make sure you’re already logged in if you’re going to try to get a PS5. Make sure all your shipping, bill and payment info is updated on whatever device you can buy from, whether it’s a laptop, desktop or phone. This makes checking out a lot faster, which is crucial as retailers’ sites get quickly bogged down, leading to people losing their chance of securing a PS5.

Where else can I buy a PS5 even if I have to pay extra?

If you’re starting to crack and considering buying a PS5 right now (and we know that with the number of big PS5 games about to drop over the next few months, the pressure is on), you can do so, but at the cost of a hefty markup on sites like eBay and StockX. On eBay, for example, we’ve seen PS5 units priced well over $1,000. We think it’s worth it to wait it out and get the new console at sticker price.

PS5 restock possibilities

More PS5 coverage

Why you should save $100 and get the all-digital version of the PS55 fixes the PS5 still needs
PS5 games are $10 more expensive. Is that fair?

This story is regularly updated with the latest PS5 stock news.

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