Sony has come out swinging ahead of the console wars looming this holiday season by confirming its two PS5 consoles will be available in November alongside a host of exciting games.

The flagship PlayStation 5 will be available for £449 in the UK from 19 November, and a digital edition which doesn't have a disc drive will cost £359.

Sony delivered the prices and release dates during a showcase on Wednesday which included surprise new games, including Final Fantasy XVI and an open-world RPG set in the Harry Potter universe.

Hogwarts Legacy is a role-playing game set in the late 1800s and appears as if it will allow players to choose their Hogwarts house as well as explore the world beyond the magical school.

Players will have access to spells, potions and magical creatures, and although the underlying story wasn't revealed the narration suggested it would be shaped by the choices the player makes in-game.

Final Fantasy XVI seems to be set in a medieval-style world with knights riding the series' classic Chocobo steeds and characters summoning icon monsters to battle in real-time. Both games will be released in 2021.

Sony's flagship console will cost exactly as much as Microsoft's, although the more affordable Xbox Series S is £100 cheaper than the PS5 digital edition. That is due to the digital edition having the same specifications as the version with a disc drive.

The consoles are going to hit shelves first in the US, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea on 12 November before coming out the following week in the rest of the world.

Pre-orders will open on 17 September at select retailers, giving Sony a bit of a head start on Microsoft with Xbox pre-orders opening on 22 September.

Sony put a lot of games into what was planned as a 40-minute showcase, including those above as well as a sequel to God of War, Spider-Man: Miles Morales and a new Call of Duty game.

Sky News had previously completed a full roundup of all 26 games revealed for the PS5 in March, starting with the six we're most excited for, followed by the rest in alphabetical order.

Response to the event was very positive on social media, with the hashtag #PlayStation5 trending globally on Twitter as people talked about their favourite games.

Sony also announced the PlayStation Plus Collection, which will give players access to classic PS4 games including The Last of Us and Fallout 4 from launch.