UK video games retailer GAME has announced that customers with pre-orders of the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S in-store must pay in-full by close of business on Wednesday. If they don’t, they will not be able to pick-up their console on launch day.
Customers who have pre-ordered next-gen consoles through GAME will have received an email with the urgent news. The reason for this is that the UK is going into its second national lockdown this Thursday due to the increased cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lockdown means that customers that pre-ordered the next-gen consoles in-store will not be able to go into the GAME store from Thursday.
Instead I imagine they would have to visit the store at an allocated time to pick-up their console on launch.
The store has made the decision to collect payments prior to Thursday’s lockdown. This is an attempt to make a busy day a little less hectic, as well as being a little safer for customers and employees.
GAME has also informed customers to keep a lookout in their email inbox. They are urging people to keep an eye out for further “important updates”. They also say that online pre-orders are not affected.
Are GAME Pre-orders The Only Store Affected?
They are not the only UK retailer to require the Click & Collect service to pick-up the next-gen consoles. Other retailers, such as Argos and Smyths, are running the same service. This is so that customers can collect their consoles on launch.
Retailers such as GAME, Argos and Smyths are considered to be non-essential businesses during the lockdown. However, the UK government has stated that they can operate if they implement the Click & Collector service.
The PlayStation 5 will be released in the UK on Thursday, November 19th. The U.S will see the console release a week earlier on the 12th. The Xbox Series X/S will release worldwide on November 10th.
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