Sony Drops PS5 Prices Right After Raising Them

It’s not every day you see a price hike followed by a discount, but here we are. Just weeks after Sony bumped up the cost of the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition in markets like Europe, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, they’re now running a limited-time discount on those same consoles. The occasion? Days of Play 2025. The message? Hard to miss: “We just raised it, now we’ll drop it — but only for a bit.”

Starting May 28 and running until June 11, Sony’s global Days of Play sale slashes prices across hardware, accessories, and services. For North American customers, this means both the digital and disc versions of the PS5 Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 bundle will start at $399.99 USD or $509.99 CAD. In Europe, the PS5 drops to €399.99, which, for context, is exactly where it launched in 2020. That’s right: Sony raised it to €499.99 in April and is now walking it back for two weeks. Same story in the U.K., where the system recently jumped to £429.99, now falling back to £339.99 for the sale.

Meanwhile, in Asia, Japan sees the console listed at ¥65,980 during the event. Sony isn’t advertising permanent changes — these are temporary discounts, limited to “select regions” and tied specifically to the Days of Play campaign.

Here’s how the PS5 discounted price dance looks now:

So why the reversal? Sony’s April price increase came with a carefully worded statement blaming “a challenging economic environment” — inflation, exchange rates, and other global financial pressures. Isabelle Tomatis, Sony’s VP of global marketing, made it sound like there was no choice. It wasn’t the first hike either: in 2022, Sony raised prices across Canada, Mexico, Europe, China, and more, citing similar reasons.

Now they’re softening the blow with discounts on consoles, bundles, and accessories. It’s an odd strategy, but the kind that makes more sense when you realise this isn’t really about economics — it’s about optics. Days of Play is one of Sony’s most high-profile promotional events, and it wouldn’t land well without some kind of deal on the hardware people actually want.

“These deals? In this economy??” — Polygon

It’s not just consoles on sale. Sony’s cutting $20–50 off most major accessories: the DualSense wireless controller is $20 off, DualSense Edge drops $30, and Pulse Explore earbuds are $30 cheaper. PS VR2 and its Horizon bundle get a massive $50 cut. If you were holding off on a premium accessory, this is the window to jump in.

Image Credit: Polygon

And yes, PlayStation Plus is part of it too. New members can save up to 33% on 12-month plans, and existing subscribers on the Essential or Extra tiers can upgrade to Premium at a discount. It’s a smart nudge toward their higher-tier subs, especially with Sony putting more focus on Premium-exclusive trials and classics.

On the digital side, the PlayStation Store sale covers titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Digital Deluxe, Tekken 8 Season 2 Ultimate Edition, Mortal Kombat 1, and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. That last one is especially timely — not just because of HBO, but because it’s part of Sony’s continuing push to repackage and resell key first-party IPs across generations.

Still, the big story is the weird contrast between Sony's April hike and its May discount. No one is going to complain about lower prices, but the whiplash is hard to ignore. It’s particularly rough in places like Australia and New Zealand, where the PS5 Digital Edition jumped by AU$100/NZ$90 just last month. Imagine seeing that price go up, then drop again for two weeks, knowing it’ll probably rise once the event ends.

None of this affects the U.S. much. American customers have consistently been spared the price increases. That’s likely due to how important the U.S. market is for PlayStation, and possibly to avoid the mess of Trump-era tariffs that still ripple through global tech pricing. But for Europe, Asia, and Oceania, Sony’s mixed signals are very real. Pay more now, but get a small break if you’re lucky enough to buy during the promo window.

For now, the PS5 discount is a rare moment of generosity, even if it comes right after taking more from the same customers. Days of Play gives people a chance to grab a deal, but it also raises some serious questions about Sony’s long-term strategy. Are we looking at permanent price instability? Region-based cash grabs? Or just a company hedging its bets in the middle of an unpredictable economy?

Either way, if you’re in one of the affected regions and you were planning to buy, this is probably your cheapest shot for the rest of the year.