Collector Buys PS5 Devkit for $2500 Without Ability to Launch Games

On Reddit, a collector boasted about purchasing a PlayStation 5 devkit, which he acquired from another collector for $2500. This device cannot launch games without Sony's permission. The enthusiast already owned eight devkits from previous PlayStation versions, from PS1 to PS4 Pro. The silhouette of the devkit is familiar to many: images of the device with a V-shaped cutout leaked back in the fall of 2019, and until the console's reveal in June 2020, many gamers were convinced that the PS5 would look exactly like that. The design was widely criticized and dubbed a pizza oven, although the production PS5 with white 'wings' soon received an equally unflattering comparison to a Wi-Fi router.

Despite its similarity to the production console, the devkit has 32 GB of RAM, which is twice as much as the final version of the PS5, and its storage is designed for 2.5 TB. Such capacity is necessary for running debug builds, which are significantly heavier than the final versions, with optimization being done by studios closer to the end of development. Developers state that the devkit allows games to be launched directly from the engine or Visual Studio with a connected debugger and breakpoints, analyze crashes with precise code location, capture individual GPU frames and profile them, as well as access Sony's platform API, including test purchases in the store with fake credit card numbers.

In the early stages, devkits are under strict secrecy, and developers working with the PS5 kept them in closed areas accessible only to those who signed an NDA. Besides devkits, studios receive test kits, which are closer to the retail console and intended for QA. Sony and Microsoft handle NDAs online, while Nintendo gathers the necessary people in one place, conducts an hour-long presentation, and signs papers in person, with silence about the Switch 2 required even after the console's launch. One developer noted that 'in the hands of someone not from the studio, it's just a giant paperweight.' After hacks of Xbox 360 and PS3 debug kits, Sony keeps devkits under strict control: studios rent them in batches, the console connects to the company's servers upon boot, works only from a whitelist of IP addresses, and regularly requires reactivation through a Sony DevNet account. The purchased unit's activation expired long ago, and connecting a device of unclear origin to the internet without necessity is risky, as it may well be listed as missing.