Everyone’s favourite sale may not have officially started yet, but the early Black Friday 2024 deals are already delivering the goods. From Argos to Very, retailers big and small have kicked off their sales, bringing tech and gaming deals galore.
The PS5 Black Friday deals are expected to drop this week and they could be pretty spectacular, following the launch of the PS5 Pro. Top of many people’s wish lists, the PlayStation 5 is rarely ever on sale, but Black Friday often brings discounts that see the console plummet to all-time low prices, as well as cheap PS5 bundles that throw in free PlayStation Plus memberships, games and more.
Read more: Black Friday 2024 live updates
A reliable leaker has revealed that PlayStation is expected to begin its Black Friday sale on Friday 22 November. Sony will slash at least £60 off the PS5 Slim disc edition, as well as potentially £200 off the PlayStation VR2.
Amazon, John Lewis, Currys and AO should also drop discounts on the console, and there are already Xbox Black Friday and Nintendo Switch Black Friday deals to be found. Below, I’m rounding up everything you need to know about when PS5 Black Friday deals are expected to start, what to expect and the best early PS5 Black Friday deals to shop now.
When will PS5 Black Friday deals start in 2024?
Technically, Black Friday is supposed to start on the Friday after Thanksgiving in the US. That’s Friday 29 November this year, concluding with the Cyber Monday discounts on 2 December.
But note the word ‘technically’. Black Friday doesn’t actually just mean a single weekend anymore – it’s an entire month-long festival of deals, with several tech retailers already launching price cuts on a tonne of products.
According to the latest leaks and rumours, deals on the PS5 Slim console, the PlayStation VR2 headset and PS5 DualSense controllers will begin dropping on Friday 22 November 2024.
What to expect from PS5 deals this Black Friday 2024
Sony may have accidentally leaked its PS5 Slim deals for Black Friday and the upcoming Christmas period. On 12 November, the gaming giant released an advert on its YouTube channel but quickly deleted it. In the ad, Sony announced that the digital edition version of the PS5 Slim (without the disc drive) will fall to just $379.99 in the US – a $70 discount. If the UK gets the same price cut, then the PS5 Slim could fall below £300 for the first time. The deal is set to run through to 24 December. A reliable leaker has also claimed that the PlayStation VR2 will be discounted by €200 (£167).
In terms of my predictions? I’m expecting to see lots of new PS5 bundles at cut-rate prices this Black Friday. Last year, PlayStation Direct dropped cheap PS5 bundles with games and accessories, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, extra DualSense wireless controllers, and a new face plate for the PS5. It also discounted a bunch of PS4 and PS5 titles.
The Modern Warfare III bundle was slashed in price to just £399.99 – an £80 price cut on the console and the game thrown in for free. It sold out fast at several retailers, however, so if you spot a Black Ops 6 bundle deal this year, it might be worth diving in.
The official PlayStation Direct store isn’t the only place you’ll be able to find a discount, however.
Amazon had some incredible savings on the PS5 last year. Three days before the start of Black Friday 2023, Amazon slashed the price of the disc edition console to just £360 – a huge £100 saving. I’m hoping for even bigger discounts on the console this year.
And what about the PS5 Pro? Demand for the PS5 Pro has been lower than many expected. That’s not quite a big surprise given its £699.99 price tag, and despite only launching a week ago, John Lewis and the EE Store have already slashed the price of the console ahead of Black Friday.
Best early PS5 Black Friday deals to shop now
PS5 Pro: Was £699, now £659, Ee.co.uk
Despite only launching a week ago, the EE Store has already slashed the price of the PS5 Pro by £40 in its early Black Friday sale, taking it down to just £660. Boasting 8K graphics, more internal memory, improved ray tracing and upscaling through Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) technology, it’s a powerhouse of a games console, blowing the Xbox Series X out of the water. It also comes with 2TB of internal storage, so you can store even more games.
PS5 Slim disc edition: Was £479.99, now £459.99, Amazon.co.uk
There aren’t any great deals on the PlayStation 5 right now, but Amazon does have a small discount. You can currently save over £20 at the retailer. This model, with the ability to read Blu-Ray discs, is essential for anyone whose library of games and movies is still physical. It’s the only PS5 console that still comes with a detachable disc drive as standard – not even the PS5 Pro has one of those. “A catalogue of exclusive games – many of them truly unmissable experiences – gives the PS5 a slight edge over the (technically more powerful) Xbox Series X.,” tech writer Steve wrote in his review.
PS5 DualSense controller: Was £64.99, now £54.95, Very.co.uk
Rarely ever on sale, there’s a £10 discount on the PS5 DualSense controller at Very. The PS5 only comes with one controller in the box, so if you want to play FC 25 on the couch with your mates, you’re going to need a second controller. “It has a comfortable ergonomic fit that moulds around your hands nicely, no matter what sized hands you have, and its buttons feel sleek and high-end,” said gaming writer Jennifer Allen in her review. “Besides looking and feeling good, it also has some useful features such as haptic feedback and a set of trigger buttons that are much more responsive and tactile than previous PlayStation controllers.”
PS5 DualSense Edge controller: Was £209, now £195.75, Very.co.uk
Save over £13 on Sony’s pro-level PS5DualSense Edge controller at Very. Designed for PS5 gamers looking for a more tailored experience, the controller has re-mappable buttons, as well as sticks and triggers that can be fine-tuned for sensitivity, dead zones and travel distance. The gamepad has a range of hardware and software-based customisation options, including swappable stick caps and rear-facing paddles with mappable inputs.
‘EA Sports FC 25’, PS5: Was £69.99, now £33.34, Amazon.co.uk
https://www.bigw.com.au/collection/gaming-new-releasesSave more than 50 per cent on FC 25 for the PS5 at Amazon, a game that boasts the biggest shake-up to the Fifa franchise in years. This isn’t just the same game with players donning new kits. There’s a new game mode, a new FC IQ system, new player roles, better tactical options and new game mechanics. If you haven’t yet laced up your boots, now’s the perfect time.
Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB M.2 SSD: Was £402.07, now £165, Amazon.co.uk
Save a massive 60 per cent on Western Digital’s WD_BLACK SN850X internal SSD for the PS5. With an integrated heatsink, it’ll always run at peak performance. You can load up games directly from the SSD with minimal lag, low latency and short load times with speeds up to 7,300 MB/s. If you’re running out of space on your PS5, this 2TB drive will be plenty enough for all your AAA games.
Looking for more console deals? Take a look at our guide to the best Black Friday gaming deals