Sony offers limited-time refurbished PlayStation 5 bundle with second DualSense controller for $18

Sony is offering a limited-time refurbished PlayStation 5 bundle with a second DualSense controller for an extra $18 through its bundle page, The Verge reported Oct. 22. The package arrives ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI’s launch, as many people buy PlayStation 5 consoles in anticipation of the game. The Verge says the bundle saves about $100 compared with paying full price at retailers for a Sony-refurbished console. The outlet presents the offer as limited-time while shoppers consider consoles ahead of the launch.

Refurbished digital PlayStation 5 consoles cost $499 and refurbished disc-based models cost $549 through the bundle page, according to The Verge. Customers can select either console type through the page and add a discounted refurbished DualSense to the order. Adding the controller costs $40 less than its usual price, which The Verge describes as an affordable way to stock up for a two-player household. A white DualSense adds just $18 to the total, while a fancier color such as sterling silver adds $23, The Verge reports.

The outlet uses the white controller as its example of the $18 add-on and mentions sterling silver as one of the fancier options. Refurbished PlayStation 5 consoles and refurbished DualSense controllers each carry a one-year warranty. The Verge notes the refurbished console keeps the same one-year warranty as a new unit. The outlet frames the Sony-refurbished console as a way to save money while keeping that warranty.

The refurbished consoles include a 1TB solid-state drive, The Verge notes. That makes the model notable because the store digital edition currently has 825GB of built-in storage while the disc edition still has 1TB. All PlayStation 5 consoles support PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs with heatsinks for extra storage, but those drives and RAM are pricey. A PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD is a fast internal storage drive used for additional capacity.

HotHardware reported Oct. 21 that Sony patched the PlayStation 5 again amid Grand Theft Auto VI piracy fears and jailbreak attention. The update arrived while Sony was on damage control following the Relapse exploit, during an arms race between Sony security engineers and PlayStation crackers. HotHardware contrasts the bland patch note language with that security pressure. The outlet says the official note states Sony improved the messages and usability on some screens.

Relapse ceased functioning once the console reached firmware version 13.60, HotHardware reports, but a follow-up exploit soon appeared. That exploit, called Overdrive, provided a seamless PlayStation Store clone for free full-game downloads. It remains unclear whether the files were privately hosted or ripped from Sony’s servers. Overdrive was removed within 24 hours after a cease-and-desist.

Early evidence cited by HotHardware indicates firmware 14.20 is getting jailbroken within hours, partially at userland. HotHardware also notes AI assistance is being used to find more exploits. Systems with jailbreaks on older firmwares can run pirated games across the complete PlayStation 5 library until the official firmware cutoff arrives.

HotHardware imagines owners of hacked PlayStation 5 consoles are likely to hold them, hoping a future jailbreak will work with Grand Theft Auto VI. kuzi (@kuzibelit) said, “Remote Lua Loader successfully executing payloads live with FTP server listening on port 1337.” The statement appears in HotHardware’s Oct. 21 reporting.