Exclusive: PS5 restock at GameStop stores for the first time in March – but there's a catch
The PS5 bundle was extremely limited across 969 GameStop stores. Here are the exclusive details first reported by The Shortcut
The first and only PS5 restock at GameStop stores was on March 11 and was first reported by The Shortcut ten days in advance o the in-store event. GameStop itself gave you just one day’s notice.
Update: I have confirmed the next GameStop PS5 restock date. Subscribe to The Shortcut and follow me on my PS5 restock Twitter tracker for more early news.
GameStop employees revealed to me that they’re going to have a tempting, but pricey PS5 Disc bundle in stock – the first in-store PS5 event at GameStop locations in 43 days. You needed the GameStop Power Rewards Pro membership to get it.
The GameStop PS5 restock bundle is detailed below.
But, there was a catch for that PS5 Disc console: inventory was extremely limited at each store. Rosewell, New Mexico, for example, had just two PS5 consoles in stock. But I was able to prep you and tell you what was in the PS5 bundle, how much it cost and how many units will be sold per store (a range).
Let’s go over the details.
🙌 When? How to get all PS5 restock Twitter tracker alerts
Step 1: 🚨 Follow me: PS5 Twitter tracker Matt Swider – follow and turn on notifications – to get restock alerts when they happen.
Step 2: Click the links (below) as soon as I tweet them (via a notification). I’ve helped 200,000 people get a next-gen console this way – a record 16,000 people got a PS5 or Xbox Series X using my alerts in one week.
Step 3: Beware of PS5 scams on social media and shady websites
Here’s the GameStop PS5 restock memo sent to me by multiple store employees. It details the PS5 bundle that was in limited supply on March 11.
Update: Here are the fliers used on March 11, as leaked to The Shortcut. It was sent to me by multiple employees (there are two flyers as the look of the printout will vary by state):
GameStop PS5 restock bundle and price
This first and only March GameStop PS5 restock was Friday, March 11. It had a tempting bundle that included two of the newest PlayStation 5 games: Horizon: Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7. You were required to buy the special edition of each, getting an extra $10 out of you. In February, I taught The Shortcut subscribers how to save another $10 Horizon: Forbidden West by buying the PS4 version and applying the free PS5 upgrade, so technically you’re out $20 on that game. Regardless, you’ll finally have a chance to buy a PS5.
Here are the PS5 bundle contents, according to the restock inventory memo I received from my GameStop sources last week:
PS5 Disc console – $499
Gran Turismo 7 (25th Anniversary Edition) – $89.99
Horizon: Forbidden West (Limited Edition) – $79.99
PS5 Dual Sense Charging Station made by PowerA – $18.99
PS4 HyperX Cloud Headset Blue – $59.99
$50 PlayStation Network gift card – you guessed it, $50
The total price of the bundle was $795 – close to $800 – for everything included. You also needed a GameStop Power Rewards Pro membership, $14.99 a year. This is all more expensive than previous GameStop bundles, which at about $750, but this one includes two new games, dropping bundle staples like Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which you may have already played by now since its launch in the Fall of 2020.
There’s a catch to the GameStop PS5 store bundle
GameStop has switched the way it does in-store restocks, and has affected your chances of getting this PlayStation 5 bundle in 2022. Back when GameStop did its first in-store PS5 restocks starting last September, it shipped as many as 70 to 80 consoles to a few stores in a handful of stores in about three to seven cities. Now it’s doing the opposite.
On average, just four to eight PS5 Disc bundles will be available on March 11.
On average, just four to eight PS5 Disc bundles were available on March 11, but I’m seeing information that indicates more stores than normal will have the Sony console in stock. In other words, get to your local GameStop before everyone else (the restock time is when your store normally opens – if they’re due to carry the console on Friday).
Update: Sure enough my list of GameStop PS5 stores for March 11 shows that 969 stores had the Sony console bundle. And plenty of my followers were able to get their hands on the console. Here’s proof: