The PlayStation 5 has been available since November 2020. It has since remained near entirely unavailable across the world. The demand for the PS5 is simply too high, with added factors like component shortages and logistics slowdowns preventing ramped-up supply. But that doesn't mean Sony isn't exploring ways to make sure the PS5 remains on video game players' minds. For example, a new leak hints that a PS5 bundle including Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart could be in the works.
The rumor stems from French retailer Boulanger. An employee or someone else with access to Boulanger's product database discovered a listing for a bundle that includes a standard edition PS5 and "Ratche," the French translation of Ratchet. The product is listed at a price of 599€. No further information is provided about the product, nor is a release date listed for it. In other words, it's clearly an unreliable leak without further verification.
The only other evidence of a possible PS5 and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart bundle that the source provides isn't particularly reliable, but is interesting nonetheless. It notes that Sony has historically created bundles for its consoles with Ratchet & Clank games. Multiple PS3 bundles were released, including one with the Ratchet & Clank Trilogy and another with Ratchet & Clank All 4 One. Another bundle shown includes a PS Vita with the Ratchet & Clank Trilogy. In other words, there's precedence for such a bundle.
However, the leak doesn't pass the smell test, otherwise. For one, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is going to be a brand new full-price game release. Given the current popularity of the PS5 and its first-party games, Sony would have no reason to bundle the game with a console so soon. Second, these past bundles historically included a Ratchet & Clank bundle-in at no extra cost. Yet the bundle shown on Boulanger's website retails for a hefty 599€. That's 100€ more than the PS5 alone, and even more than what the $70 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart game would cost separately.
There are two likely possibilities for this supposedly leaked Boulanger product listing, then. One is that it's completely faked and the profile is either a mock-up or false information input by someone with access to Boulanger's system. The second is that this is a custom retailer bundle, in which they put two separate products together, call it a bundle, and charge more than retail price. That's not uncommon, given the scarcity of PS5s in the world.
Sony very likely will offer a bundle for the PS5 in the future. It could even come in 2021, perhaps with the Miles Morales Spider-Man game or Demon's Souls. It's much more likely to come at a later date when the PS5 isn't selling out immediately, however. And is even less likely to include a brand new game released in the past six months.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart releases June 11 on PS5.