Amazon isn't shy about highlighting the many benefits that come with its $99/£79-per-year Prime subscription. However, the Prime site does fail to mention one major "feature" to shoppers: on occasion, certain flash sales are Prime-only. If you don't subscribe to Prime, you can't purchase the item in question at all. Further Reading PSA: Amazon Prime gives 20 percent discount on new/pre-release games

Amazon UK shoppers found this out the hard way on Friday when major PlayStation 4 video games Grand Theft Auto V, Far Cry Primal, Assassin's Creed Syndicate, Battlefield Hardline, and Rainbow Six Siege were put behind Prime-exclusive barriers. As of press time, you cannot purchase any of those games' PS4 "standard" editions directly from Amazon UK without a Prime subscription.

As videogamer.com reported, the games didn't just receive a Prime-specific discount; they're wholly unavailable as direct-from-Amazon purchases without the subscription. (However, the videogamer.com report incorrectly states that those games' Prime-only status has been lifted for UK shoppers; it's still in place as of press time.) Thanks to Amazon's hearty third-party reseller options, UK game buyers can still grab the games from the site, just not directly from Amazon.

This is yet another reminder that Amazon is actively applying Prime-only restrictions to products in both the UK and US however it sees fit. The company has been doing this on and off for over a year now. These restrictions tend to be temporary and sporadic, and they're linked to specific discounts as opposed to brand-new product launches. Amazon's US site did not duplicate any of these games' Prime-specific access and discounts. Update: As readers have pointed out, Amazon's US page for Grand Theft Auto V currently includes a Prime-only restriction for its PS4 edition, but other US games from the UK sale do not.

Videogamer.com's report included a response from Amazon UK, which affirmed that "one of the many benefits of Amazon Prime is access to exclusive selection on a number of great products." However, that Amazon response didn't clarify why Amazon Prime's launch page doesn't actively advertise that benefit. Amazon also did not indicate if or when that Prime-only restriction will be lifted for these games.