Sony has a new black PS5, but for now it is only for Japan. Sony Interactive Entertainment announced on the Japanese PlayStation Blog that the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition Midnight Black will launch in Japan on November 19 for 55,000 yen, tax included.
Like Sony’s existing Japan-only Digital Edition, this model is locked to Japanese as the system language and to Japan as the country and region, and it works only with PlayStation Network accounts registered in Japan. It has no disc drive and packs an 825GB SSD. Otherwise it keeps the core PS5 features, including the fast SSD, 3D audio, PS4 backward compatibility and the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.
A matching disc drive, and a date for the end of discs
Sony is also releasing a Midnight Black Disc Drive the same day for 11,980 yen, for players who still want to run physical games. Preorders for both open on October 20 at PlayStation retailers and online stores in Japan, according to the announcement and Gematsu.
The bigger line sits at the bottom of the post. Sony’s notice says PlayStation games newly released from January 2028 onward will be sold only as downloads through PlayStation Store and retailers. Disc versions of games released before January 2028 will remain playable.
That gives a firm date to a shift RCG first tracked when Sony was reportedly surveying developers about ending PlayStation discs. It also explains why a disc drive add-on now looks like a bridge rather than a long-term option for new releases.
The timing is not subtle, either. Sony’s post notes that the PS5 turns six on November 12, and that the Midnight Black model arrives on the same day as Grand Theft Auto VI.
Sony has not announced the Midnight Black Digital Edition for other regions. Sony already sells Midnight Black accessories such as the PlayStation Portal, but the console itself stays a Japan exclusive for now.
