Company behind black PlayStation 5 custom design cancels orders after alleged threats to staff

While the PlayStation 5 is still a hard item to buy, one company had marketed a custom model of the console, inspired by the PlayStation 2. Design company SUP3R5 has now canceled all orders of a custom black PS5, stating that there were threats to their staff members. Now all of the orders are being refunded and there is no definite timeline for when the consoles will be available again.

According to the now-deleted SUP3R5 Twitter account, the company claimed on January 9 that their “team began receiving credible threats to their safety. We take these threats seriously, and as a result, we’re not proceeding forward. All orders are being cancelled with full refunds.” This tweet leads us down the trail of skepticism with the fact that no actual evidence is provided that threats were made.

As if the deletion of the Twitter account wasn’t suspicious enough, some customers were having difficulty in getting their refund at all. At this point, the only way of contacting the company is through the basic email form on its website, though some gamers have found difficulty in securing a refund, adding even more weight to the idea that this may have been a scam.

While SUP3R5 promised to send custom PlayStation 5s, there was not much evidence of these consoles’ existence. The one image used to promote these products actually came from a Reddit post. Much like the company’s Twitter account, it no longer exists. One Reddit comment from the design’s creator attached with images is still live, as of this writing.

These consoles had a massive upcharge of $649 and $749 for the digital and disc drive versions, respectively. That is an additional $250 customers would have to pay for a console when they didn’t even know what the finished product looked like. The skepticism for the console and the massive upcharge, while it absolutely does not warrant threats on a company, may have caused a backlash of angry consumers who could not get their hands on a regular priced console, let alone an overpriced one. 

Due to these threats, SUP3R5 has all but disappeared, which leads many to believe that this may have been a sham after all. Since there is no longer a Twitter account or a product page to be seen, we do not know the fate of this company and the full story behind the curious case of the custom console.