Exclusive: Best Buy PS5 restock unlikely, but Sony Direct is today – here’s the confirmed time

The PS5 restock today is confirmed for Sony Direct via a virtual queue, and there’s evidence that the PlayStation 5 console will be in stock at Best Buy too. We know that Walmart routinely has a console restock every other Thursday.

Our PS5 restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider has helped 43,000 people get a next-gen console in recent weeks with his in-stock Twitter alerts, and he’ll send you an alert – if you follow his account and turn on notifications.

What time will the PS5 restock? Sony Direct sent email invites to PSN users (it’s done at random) for a 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT virtual queue, and quite a lot of people got the invite this time around, according to our exclusive reporting and research. Don’t despair – the Sony Direct virtual always opens to the general public afterward. The most popular time is in the late afternoon.

• When? Get alerts: Follow our PS5 restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider for notifications and live restock news. It’s the fastest way to get real-time PS5 restock updates.
• Don’t buy from Twitter users – which are all scams. Only buy from the US stores Matt alerts you about. No legitimate person will sell a PS5 for just $550.

But Sony Direct should be your last opportunity to buy PS5 today. The Best Buy PS5 restock may happen first (it very briefly tested the add-to-cart button overnight while you were sleeping), and there’s a chance Walmart will have some PlayStation 5 consoles today, June 17 (we track PS5 at Walmart every Thursday at 3pm EDT).

Why trust our reporting: Matt Swider has helped alert 43,000 people to a next-gen console via his tweets and exclusive reporting of restock news. Click on this example of a past PS5 restock alert to get notifications (it’s the little bell icon).

PS5 restock news for June 17: Sony Direct and Best Buy

Today, Thursday, June 17, has the potential to be the first massive PS5 restock in three weeks. We have confirmed that Sony Direct email invites went out to select PSN users at random and a virtual queue will happen in the afternoon today. Sony always opens things up after that time, usually at 5pm EDT / 2pm PDT.

Best Buy and Walmart (written in the order likelihood) are also poised to restock the Sony console. We’ve seen Best Buy testing out the add-to-cart button overnight, a sign it will restock the PS5 in the coming hours. We will update this page when it happens, but the faster way to get alerts is through our Twitter account.

Our 24/7 PS5 restock Twitter did find some consoles in stock this week. There was a minor Target PS5 restock yesterday morning for both the $499 PS5 Disc and $399 PS5 Digital consoles. Newegg had a ‘Shuffle’ lottery alongside a GPU restock, while Antonline sold a PS5 bundle on Monday to start off the week.

Sony Direct virtual queue today – here’s the time

• If you have an email invite, the Sony Direct PS5 restock time is today at 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT (Sony Direct email invite is sent randomly)
• Everyone else: the Sony Direct PS5 restock time is likely to be today at 5pm EDT / 2pm PDT 
• Last Sony Direct PS5 restock date and time: Thursday, May 20 at 5pm EDT / 2pm PDT
• How to get it: Follow our PS5 restock Twitter account

The Sony Direct will restock the PS5 today for those with an email invite (you can’t ask for a Sony Direct invite, as it’s randomly sent to PSN account holders). That’s been confirmed to be happening at 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT, according to the email seen by TechRadar.

Everyone else may see a similar virtual queue that often opens up at 5pm EDT / 2pm PDT. Will it be exactly at this time? That’s unconfirmed, but that’s become the most popular time that Sony Direct goes live in recent months. Basically, look out for our alert in the late afternoon.

Best Buy PS5 restock date seems imminent

• Next Best Buy restock date: Could be Thursday, June 17 at any time
• Last Best Buy restock date: Thursday, June 3 at 9:37am EDT
• But it often happens between 12pm EDT and 3:40pm EDT

The Best Buy PS5 restock may actually be first today, and we’re confident of that for two reasons. First, overnight the online store flashed the add-to-cart button a bunch of times. You couldn’t buy the Sony console, but it’s a sign that Best Buy is testing out the product page for both PS5 Digital and PS5 Disc.

There’s another reason, which we cited last week: Best Buy added a Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart PS5 bundle to its inventory. Best Buy doesn’t require you to buy bundles, unlike GameStop and Antonline, but these optional sales pitches are usually a sign that it’s preparing to open up PS5 inventory soon.

While the Best Buy restock time has been all over the place in 2021, we know the American electronics retailer often favors Thursday and Friday restocks.

Target PS5 restock date happened yesterday

The Target restock date finally happened after three weeks of the console being out of stock, but it went too quickly for a lot of people. It varied due to the fact that this particular store has inventory flowing through its local retail stores. It’s an online-only purchase with in-store pickup (and has that way been for all of 2021).

The Target PS5 restock date has been a mystery lately (always a Wednesday or Thursday, though), but the restock time remains firm: 7:40am EDT / 6:40am CDT / 5:40am MDT / 4:40am PDT. That’s a brutal time if you’re on the West coast of the US, however, since you’re shopping online and selecting a local store, it becomes a lot easier to buy a PS5 when everyone else in your town is asleep. 

Walmart PS5 restock: will it happen tody?

• Next Walmart restocked date: maybe Thursday, June 17 at 3pm EDT
• Last small Walmart restocked date: Monday, June 14 and June 3 at 3:10am EDT
• Last major Walmart restock date: Thursday, May 20 at 3:26pm EDT

Walmart PS5 restock dates often happen on Thursdays, however, the followers of the Matt Swider PS5 Twitter tracker account have been woken up by 3am restock opportunities the past two cycles. A few were lucky enough to buy the PS5 Digital console. We’re still keen on checking out Walmart at 3pm EDT (normal hours) every Thursday (so today) just in case Walmart follows its usual PS5 restock pattern.

We’ll send out a news alert today whether or not there will be a PS5 restock at Walmart (we often know the news ahead of time).

GameStop PS5 restock will remain online only

• GameStop PS5 restocked date: Online only restock this week or next
• Last GameStop restock date and time: Wednesday, May 26 at 2pm EDT

There’s no GameStop restock in stores this week – that was for a special Xbox Series X restock in GameStop stores. The Sony PS5 consoles remain harder to get, so while those in-store purchases are going on, we expect GameStop to stick to offering PS5 bundles online, maybe sometime this week or next week.

Despite tweeting that GameStop wouldn’t have the PS5 in stores, our PS5 restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider received many replies asking if… it would be in stores.

Newegg raffles PS5 bundles every other week

• Last Newegg restock date: Wednesday, June 16 at 11am EDT
• Prior Newegg restock date: Wednesday, June 9 at 11am EDT
• You can see the Newegg PS5 restock is happening every other Wednesday

Newegg occasionally offers PS5 bundles with games and accessories – and recently we’ve seen a restock from at the online store every other Wednesday. Bad news: it just happened this past Wednesday. It’s always a lottery with the Newegg Shuffle, so you’re never guaranteed to get it, but you also don’t have to constantly try to add it to your cart. Newegg also has RTX GPU stock almost every day.

Antonline the PS5 Disc console on Monday

• Last Antonline restock date: Tuesday, June 14 at 11am EDT

Antonline finally had a PS5 Disc console in stock on Monday, and it had six games at MSRP. Even at face value, the PS5 bundle price was $809 in the end, and while many people passed on this, it sold out in two minutes.

Antonline is one of the better retailers to buy PS5 from – even if it’s not a household name. It ships fast, according to the thousands of Twitter tracker replies we’ve gotten showing a solid customer service experience. People have gotten the console in as little as two days.

Amazon PS5 restock date is always a myserty

Amazon has had a restock anywhere between 15 and 54 days, according to our PS5 restock tracker timeline. That means it can happen at any point and the date hasn’t had a pattern.

However, there is potentially good news as part of our research into the Amazon PS5 restock times. We’ve noticed that it shifts back and forth between morning and 3am EDT every month. The current restock cycle calls for a 3am EDT Amazon PS5 restock time, though we don’t know the date. It could be between now and Amazon Prime Day deals.

Here’s an example of the last Twitter alert we sent for the PS5 restock at Amazon: