Walmart has PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles today at 12PM ET for paying subscribers

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Walmart is serving up another round of console restocks on this Pi Day (that’s today). The superstore giant is known for reliable console drops that don’t require buying a pricey bundle, but it does require paying for a subscription service. Once again, access to these consoles is exclusive to paying Walmart Plus members when it goes live today at 12PM ET / 9AM PT. All three major consoles will be available, including the standard PlayStation 5 equipped with a disc drive for $499, the disc-less PlayStation 5 Digital Edition for $399, and also the Xbox Series X for $499.

To get your console of choice today, you’re going to need a paid Walmart Plus account, which costs $12.95 per month or $98 per year. While free trial accounts are not eligible, you only need to pay for one month’s membership to qualify.

The road to success with Walmart’s site is to get your Walmart Plus subscription squared away ahead of time and logged in with your preferred shipping and billing address ready to go. Load up the console listing of your choice, and refresh your browser right as the time is crossing over to 12:00PM ET / 9:00AM PT. Then quickly hit “Add to Cart” as soon as you see the button go live. Be careful not to continually reload the page, as Walmart’s bot protection may temporarily lock you out and delay your endeavors. Once you are in the queue for a console, wait patiently and hope you get lucky. You normally have just 10 minutes to check out once a console is added to your cart, so don’t dawdle.

Hopefully you have success this time around. In the meantime, be sure to stock up on any essential accessories and games for your new console, and subscribe to our Verge Deals newsletter to help you save money on video games, tech, and gadgets.

Recommended accessories and games for PlayStation 5

Since the Walmart restocks are console-only, it’s a great chance to pick exactly what games and accessories you want. Here are some we recommend, including some PS5-exclusives.

Recommended accessories and games for Xbox Series X

Over on the Xbox side of things, there may not be as many exclusives, but there is Xbox Game Pass, as well as some great choices for headsets covering more price points.