Gamers still hunting down a PS5 restock are about to get a new retailer to track, as PlayStation Direct is confirmed to be launching in Europe.
Sony’s official retailing website, PlayStation Direct, first launched in the U.S. in September 2019 and sells consoles, games, and accessories. It had been assumed for a while that the storefront would eventually launch in additional territories and that’s now been confirmed by Sony during an investor event.
As reported by VGC, PlayStation Direct will launch in the U.K., Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg by the end of Sony’s current business year, which concludes in March 2022 — though we’d expect the retailing service to be up and running in good time for the holiday season.
During a presentation, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO, Jim Ryan, said: “PlayStation Direct has achieved significant revenue in the US market within little more than a year of starting operations. We plan for 300 percent further growth within this fiscal year, helped by our upcoming launch in Europe.”
According to figures outlined in the same presentation, PlayStation Direct is expected to generate over $600 million in revenue in the current fiscal year, after bringing in $200 million during the previous twelve months. So the online retail outlet has clearly been a strong success for Sony, no wonder it’s keen to rapidly expand.
What does this mean for PS5 restocks?
This news could be fairly significant when it comes to PS5 restocks in the U.K. and Europe. Primarily it’ll offer gamers still looking to secure a PS5 an additional retailer to track, and more stock drops to potentially score a console during.
The launch could in fact have an impact on stock levels at high street retailers. The likes of Game, Argos and Currys PC World might end up receiving smaller allocations of the console due to Sony holding back units to sell through PlayStation Direct. After all, cutting out the middle man likely leads to a larger percentage of the profits for Sony.
In the U.S., PlayStation Direct uses both an invite system and a virtual queue to handle restocks. These tools have helped them run a lot smoother than restocks at retailers who just throw open the floodgates and allow thousands of customers to attempt to checkout at the same time.
The opening of PlayStation Direct in Europe could offer PS5-less gamers the chance to finally purchase a console without having to endlessly refresh a product listing or battle against website crashes.
While we await the launch of PlayStation Direct on this side of the pond, we’re still tracking PS5 availability at every major retailer in our PS5 restock hub. Here you’ll find the latest stock information as we get it, so make sure to check it regularly.
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