If you've been paying attention to PlayStation's announcements of late, you might remember that the brand has been planning to drop a new set of computer speakers for a while now. The Pulse Elevate speakers were originally announced in September 2025, and after nearly a year of waiting, PlayStation has revealed when you can purchase them. Unfortunately, in light of more recent controversial PlayStation announcements, launch timing may not go down so smoothly with fans.
Far more likely than you hearing about a set of wireless speakers from PlayStation is the chance of you hearing that the brand is pulling back from physical media. This announcement that PlayStation will cease support for discs has dominated conversation in gaming this summer, and it's resulted in PlayStation's social accounts being "ratiod" ever since, flooded with comments of "No Disc, No Buy".
It's now gotten to the point where PlayStation fans are going a step further, with one online movement even planning a boycott of the brand's platform, services, software, and hardware to make a statement about how they feel about the end of disc support.
"For several years now," reads the #PSBlackout manifesto, "Sony Interactive Entertainment has continued to grow further and further from its fan base...
"Ending physical discs in 2028 feels like the last straw... With that, we are calling on PlayStation players to participate in an economic gameplay blackout from Sunday, August 23, at 7pm local time through Sunday August 30 at 7pm local time.
"Players can participate by turning off their consoles or logging out for seven days. We feel that this period gives publishers and developers minimal impact while still giving players a voice."
Meanwhile, Sony, which hasn't issued a statement on the boycott or its end of support for physical media since the original announcement, seems unfazed. In fact, it announced via the PlayStation Blog that "Pulse Elevate wireless speakers in Midnight Black and White will launch starting on November 12, 2026, with a recommended retail price (RRP) of $219.99 USD | £199.99 GBP."
To make matters worse, the new Elevate Speakers will be available to pre-order on September 1st, two days after the PSBlackout is slated to end.
It's unclear whether this is an intentional duck-and-move decision by PlayStation to avoid the boycott, but the brand is currently opening pre-orders for its new Wolverine PS5 faceplates and limited edition DualSense.
Not to cross any consumer-friendly picket lines, but as someone who reviews desktop speakers, I will be interested to see how the Pulse Elevate Wireless speakers compare to what's already on the shelves. They do have a few innovative features that stand out - in fact, their wireless form factor and included microphone are definitely USPs and make them bespoke to gamers who don't want to wear one of the best gaming headsets all the time.
This isn't the first time Sony is reaching into a more desktop-oriented playspace with its hardware, as the Sony Inzone monitors, headsets, and earbuds all tilt toward a desk setup market. Somewhat ironic is that these speakers, and the entire Inzone lineup, now exist for PC players while Sony has also pulled back from releasing its first-party games on PC storefronts.
Sony sure knows how to make friends and influence people at the moment.
For more on PC setups, take a look at the best gaming PCs, the best CPU for gaming, and the best RAM for gaming.
