According to industry sources, PlayStation 5 will launch mid-November

Being a gamer at present means having a great deal of patience. We’re now almost three months away from when both the Xbox Series X and PS5 are expected to release, yet neither platform-holder seemingly wants to confirm this is the case. According to an article published on VGC this afternoon, however, retail and development sources cite that Sony’s console is expected to launch in mid-November – roughly a week after the Xbox Series X’s Nov 13^th expected to release.

VGC’s report suggests that the reason why both companies are hesitant to lock down an official release date is due to the production uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. “Launching a product during the Christmas sales period is not easy at the best of times,” it reads, “but with the pandemic still disrupting global infrastructure, neither platform holder can be confident of sticking to an exact date for their console launches, even this late in the year.”

The article goes on to say that this is also why major holiday titles like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Spider-Man: Miles Morales have been sticking to this mysterious ‘holiday’ release window. We saw a bit of evidence supporting this earlier this year with the launch of The Last of Us: Part II, where Naughty Dog was forced to delay its apocalyptic follow-up from February to June.

Earlier this week a PlayStation 5 pre-order page popped up, letting players in the USA register their interest with Sony directly. This led some to believe that a release date announcement and price reveal was imminent, but alas it doesn’t appear to be the case so far. This VGC report is the closest we’ve come yet to a confirmation about a launch window for Sony’s next-gen console. Releasing in November isn’t too much of a surprise, though it’s interesting to hear that there will again be a week between both consoles hitting store shelves.

We’ll let you know as soon as Sony confirms the PS5’s release date and price officially. For now, though, be sure to check out our advice guide on the best pre-order practices for securing yourself a PlayStation 5 console here in the UK.