The PS5 release date has been a mystery ever since the console was announced, beyond the vague promise of 'holiday 2020'. However, we could have Fortnite's upcoming Joker pack to thank for the latest leak on the matter.
In a bit of a 'process of elimination' situation, a recent Fortnite blog has helped us to trim down our expectations for the PS5 launch window. At the very least, this announcement of the incoming Fortnite Joker content has allowed us to cross a few potential dates off our list of suspects.
RUMOUR: Will Japan get the PS5 before everywhere else?
Keep reading for the full story, and what it could mean for the PS5 release date...
Fortnite Joker blog narrows down the PS5 release date window
As Epic's recent Fortnite blog explained, "Batman’s archnemesis, The Joker, arrives in Fortnite via The Last Laugh Bundle releasing on November 17."
The blog added this interesting nugget of information: "The retail version is available on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. It will also arrive in time for the release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X next-generation consoles."
This makes it sound A LOT like the PS5 will be in our homes by November 17th, 2020. And while the Xbox Series X release date has already pretty much been confirmed for November 6th (or thereabouts), this is the best indication we've had so far regarding the PS5 release date.
READ MORE:Check out the full list of PS5 launch titles
When did the previous PlayStation consoles come out?
When weighing up any new rumour/rumbling about the PS5 release date, it's worth looking at how it matches up to the previous console launches from Sony. So does 'before November 17th' match up to what PlayStation release dates have looked like in the past? Let's have a look...
The original PlayStation One console launched in Japan on 3 December 1994, before hitting North America on 9 September 1995. Europe got the console on 29 September 1995, and Australia got in on the action on 15 November 1995.
The PS2 launched in Japan on 4 March 2000, before reaching North America on 26 October 2000, Europe on 24 November 2000, and Australia on 30 November 2000.
The PS3 launched in Japan on 11 November 2006, before reaching North America on 17 November 2006, and the wider PAL region on 23 March 2007.
The script seemed to flip with the launch of the PS4, which reached North America on 15th November 2013 and the PAL region on 29 November 2013, before coming to Japan on 22 February 2014.
Certainly, there's a few mid-November dates in that history, so we've got no reason to think that Epic's Fortnite blog was off the mark. We'll keep waiting for PS5 live-stream event to make it official!
GET READY:PS5 backwards compatibility could bring back PS1, PS2 and PS3 games