PS5 and Xbox Series X won’t be in Best Buy stores until next year

Best Buy Gaming console
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Thinking of picking up either a PS5 or Xbox Series X any time before the end of the year? If Best Buy is your retailer of choice, you had better be prepared to do your shopping online.

In a blog post that outlines how Best Buy is handling PS5 and Xbox Series X sales just before both consoles go on sale, the retail giant says that you'll still have a chance to get your hands on either product even if you haven't pre-ordered. But Best Buy is only taking online orders — you won't be able to shop for the PS5 or Xbox in Best Buy's brick-and-mortar stores.

That doesn't just cover the Nov. 10 Xbox and Nov. 12 PS5 launches either. Best Buy says its physical stores won't feature either console through the holiday shopping season. "This means there’s no need to camp out at your local store, just check back on BestBuy.com without leaving home," Best Buy said.

Online orders for either console at BestBuy.com will have options for how to pick up your new Xbox Series X or PS5. Best Buy offers both curbside pickup as well as in-store pickups.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic means online outlets are probably your best bet for a lot of electronics shopping, especially gaming consoles. Sony has already said that all its retail partners will be offering the PS5 online for launch day.

We've been monitoring where you can buy the PS5 as well as where the Xbox Series X will be available in advance of next week's launches. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X will cost $499, though each console maker is selling separate versions — the PS5 Digital Edition ($399) and the Xbox Series S ($299) — that cost less.

Philip Michaels

Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.