Sony’s iconic PlayStation shapes take over London Tube station for UK PS5 launch

Sony has taken over Oxford Circus Tube station in London to mark the launch of the PS5 in the UK. The marketing stunt will last for 48 hours at Oxford Circus, and sees the Tube station rebranded with PlayStation shapes throughout. The walls of the tube station have changed, alongside the decorative roundels for the four station entrances at street level.

These four entrances have the PlayStation shapes you’ll find on the PS5’s DualSense controller. Each one is just a few steps away from Microsoft’s big London store, too. The Tube rebranding also extends across London. Mile End station is now being rebranded Miles End, in a nod to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Lancaster Gate is being rebranded Ratchet and Clankaster Gate, Seven Sisters transformed into Gran Turismo 7 Sisters, and West Ham into Horizon Forbidden West Ham. These four Tube names are temporary, but the rebranding at these additional stations will last all the way until December 16th.

This isn’t the first time that Transport for London (TfL) has rebranded Tube stations for corporations. Amazon briefly renamed Westminster to Webminster back in 2017 to mark the launch of its London data center. Canada Water tube station was also temporarily rebranded as Buxton Water for the London Marathon in 2015.

It’s surprising to see such a big marketing effort during a national lockdown in England, though. Most Londoners are working from home or avoiding the city as part of national restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus, so many won’t get to see the PlayStation shapes. The Sony rebranding comes just a day before tomorrow’s launch of the PS5 in the UK.

Update, November 18th 05:50AM ET: Article updated with additional information on additional Tube stations being rebranded across London.