UPDATE: GameStop has confirmed that it will have more PS5 pre-orders available both online and in-stores on Friday, September 25.
Original story follows.
Many people who tried to purchase a pre-order for a PS5 or Xbox Series X/S found themselves disappointed with how quickly sales went and how chaotic the console pre-orders were. Simply put, tons of people weren't able to get a console and while this is frustrating, a leak from a GameStop employee reveals that there may be another chance coming soon for those who want to get their hands on a PS5.
The PS5 pre-orders were a confusing event full of technical glitches, unclear communication, and disappointed customers. Even now, after the pre-orders have already been bought out, people who pre-ordered a PS5 through Walmart are seeing a weird price fluctuation issue. Some people are holding out hope for another wave of pre-orders, while others are resigning themselves to waiting until November 12.
A Twitter user well-known for being an active source of leaks and gaming analysis and discourse, Wario64, claims that a GameStop employee approached him to let him know something that hasn't been officially announced by the retailer yet. According to the leak, GameStop will do in-story only pre-orders on the PS5 disc version, although these consoles will not be available until a week after launch, instead of on launch day like a normal pre-order situation.
Wario64 adds that the pre-orders will be available during normal store hours, and that the Pulse Headset/DualSense Charging won't be part of the pre-orders that will supposedly happen on Friday, September 25. Also, some stores won't be doing reservations if they went over their reservations when the pre-orders sold out last week.
Since Sony apologized for the PS5 pre-order situation and promised more waves, this could very well be the first of the second pre-orders and the leak could prove accurate. However, it is unclear why GameStop wouldn't have announced this yet if it is indeed happening in less than two days, although one explanation for that is that it wants to avoid huge crowds of people preparing to walk into stores and line up outside, clogging up business.
Given how many GameStop stores are closing due to huge Q2 losses thanks to COVID, this could be an attempt for the retailer to recoup some costs and lost business by making these alleged pre-orders in-store only, so people have to come inside and will potentially buy other products from GameStop while they're there. Of course, as this is just a rumor, everyone should take this information with a grain of salt and keep an eye on retailers' social media to see when official next pre-order waves happen.
