Despite 19% of box game sales in the UK being on PS5, people don't know what to do with their expensive paperweights

PS5 launch games are shipping in the UK well before Sony's next-gen console even arrives in the country, and there's more next-gen games out there already than you might expect.

The tweet below, from GamesIndustry.biz editor Chris Dring, reveals that PS5 games accounted for almost 19% of games sold in the UK last week, despite the PS5 not having actually launched. That's a pretty astounding figure, and a clear indicator that a vast number of PS5 consoles have been pre-ordered in the UK ahead of launch later this week.

That's a lot of PS5 games that are sat around, completely useless until Thursday this week, when the PS5 launches in the UK. In fact, a lot of us here at GamesRadar have received PS5 games early, and one of us even tried inserting the PS5 disc into their PS4 console, just to see what would happen (it wasn't exciting, the console merely couldn't read the disc).

I haven't even opened the two PS5 games that are sat on my shelf right now. They're Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon's Souls, and I plan on them acting as very expensive paperweights until the console arrives on Thursday. That, and I want that fresh game smell when the PS5 gets here.

Taking a brief look on Twitter, it would appear plenty of consumers are a bit frustrated with their games. For all intents and purposes, these £70 games are effectively useless until the actual hardware arrives.

Memeing through the pain is always sound advice. There's just a few days to go now until the PS5 launches in the UK on November 12, and here's hoping there aren't any delays en masse like we saw across the Atlantic last week with outlets like Walmart Canada.

For a look at all the latest deals and bundles incorporating Sony's next-gen console, head over to our guide on where to buy a PS5 for more.