CONFIRMED
The PS5 is now the only major console without a direct way to gift digital games, Push Square reports. Nintendo says eShop gifting starts November 17, and PlayStation LifeStyle reports that PS Store users are renewing calls for Sony to follow. Sony has not announced any plans to bring the feature back.
What we know
Push Square reports that the PS5 is now the only major console that does not offer a direct digital game gifting option. If you want to give someone a PS5 game digitally, the only workaround is buying PSN vouchers or gift cards and letting the recipient redeem the credit themselves.
That workaround works, but it’s clunky. You can’t pick a specific game from the PS Store and send it to a friend’s account. You hand over money instead, which isn’t quite the same as a wrapped present. It also means the recipient has to know what you meant to buy, or you have to tell them.
Nintendo’s change is what put the spotlight back on Sony. According to Push Square’s coverage relaying Nintendo, eShop gifting starts November 17. There’s a catch: it’s limited to members of the same Nintendo Account family group. So it’s not open gifting to any friend on your list. It’s aimed at households, like a parent buying a game for a child’s account. Even so, it means Nintendo now has some form of digital gifting, and PlayStation doesn’t.
PlayStation LifeStyle reports that PS Store users are renewing demands for a game gifting feature after Nintendo’s move. The outlet also notes that PlayStation is now the only platform lacking it.
There’s some history here too. According to a Yahoo Tech explainer, Sony removed the ability to gift digital games on the PlayStation Store as of April 1, 2019. We haven’t verified that date against a primary Sony source, so treat it as reported rather than officially confirmed. It does suggest that the missing feature was removed rather than simply never built.
What we don’t know yet
The big question is whether Sony plans to add gifting to the PS Store. Right now there’s no answer. Sony has not announced any plans for PS Store digital gifting, and we found no official PlayStation statement on the topic.
We also don’t know why the feature is still missing. Sony hasn’t given a public explanation that we could find, either for the reported 2019 removal or for not bringing gifting back since. Anything beyond that would be guesswork, and we’re not going to put words in Sony’s mouth.
It’s also unclear how Nintendo’s version will work day to day once it goes live on November 17. The family group limit is known, but how smooth the process is, and how popular it turns out to be, won’t be clear until players start using it.
Finally, there’s no sign of how Sony is reading the renewed user demand. PlayStation LifeStyle reports the calls are growing again, but Sony hasn’t responded publicly.
What it means
For PS5 players, nothing changes today. If you want to give someone a digital PS5 game this holiday season, gift cards and PSN vouchers are still the only option. That works fine if the person knows what they want. It’s less handy if you wanted to surprise them with a specific title.
A few practical notes for anyone planning to gift this way. Make sure the voucher or card matches the region of the recipient’s PSN account, since store credit is region-locked. And if you have a particular game in mind, it’s worth telling them, so the credit doesn’t end up spent on something else.
The bigger picture is that Sony is now the odd one out. Push Square and PlayStation LifeStyle both frame PlayStation as the only major platform without gifting, and Nintendo’s move takes away the cover of “nobody else does it either.” Nintendo’s version is limited, but it’s still a version.
Does that mean Sony will cave? Not necessarily. Platform holders don’t always add features just because competitors have them, and Sony hasn’t signaled anything. But user pressure tends to be loudest around the holidays, and the timing of Nintendo’s November 17 launch lands right as people start thinking about gifts.
If Sony does bring gifting back, the Nintendo approach might be a template worth watching. Limiting gifting to family groups is a narrower, more controlled setup than open gifting between any two accounts. Whether Sony would go narrow, go broad, or do nothing at all is anyone’s guess right now, and we’ll only know once Sony says something.
Until then, the status is simple. Gifting on PS5 is not announced, not rumored, and not happening as far as any official source shows. The demand is real, according to PlayStation LifeStyle, but demand alone doesn’t ship features.
We’ll update this story if Sony comments or announces any changes to how the PS Store handles gifts.
About this piece
- Fact-checked by Harriet Vance before publication.
- Published
