PS5 accessory leak hints at possible November release date

The PS5 will have third-party accessories, and they’ll be available at major retailers. This is perhaps not the most surprising bit of console news this week, but it’s (probably) true, and we have some firsthand info to support it. The list contains pretty standard stuff for third-party gaming accessories: docks, charging cables and controller grips.

The information comes from Barron-Blade, a prominent Reddit user who works for a “certain hated video game retail chain.” (As Barron-Blade lives in Canada, my best guess is EB Games. But Canada is a big country, and there are other ire-worthy shops.) He said that the retail store’s system received listings for a number of third-party PS5 accessories, and that they had a release date of November 3.

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Although Barron-Blade did not reveal the manufacturer’s name, he did share a full list of accessories: a system stand, a magnetic controller dock, a magnetic play and charge cable, a USB-C glow cable and a controller grip kit. Unfortunately, this doesn’t tell us much about which accessory manufacturer this might be. Those are all pretty common peripherals, and multiple companies produce their own versions for the PS4 and Xbox One.

The release date, November 3, is also intriguing, as the PS5 will probably hit shelves in mid or late November, judging by previous console release dates. As such, this could mean a few different things. The first is that the PS5 — and all of its associated accessories — could come out earlier than anticipated. It could also mean that the accessories will come out before the console, which is not unprecedented. The same thing happened with the PS4.

Of course, the most likely option is that the November 3 date is simply a placeholder. Barron-Blade said as much himself. Shipment dates for hardware are slippery things, particularly when supply lines aren’t operating at their normal capacities. Come November 3, you’re probably going to have to find a way to live without a magnetic DualSense charging cable.

As far as whether the rumor is true, the claim is not extraordinary, and the user in question seems reliable. Every console that’s ever come out has had third-party accessories, and in the case of recent consoles, said accessories are usually available near launch. Accessories sometimes launch before the consoles themselves.

Perhaps EB Games will have official pre-orders for the accessories up soon, or perhaps we’ll have to wait until we get an official PS5 release date first. Either way, holiday 2020 is getting a little closer each day, so Sony will have to share more information sooner or later. Until then, stay tuned to Sony’s official feeds — and to Tom’s Guide — to learn when the PS5 will come out and how much it will cost.

Marshall Honorof was a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. After hours, you can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.