Xbox Series Consoles Will Become More Expensive In The U.S. For The Second Time This Year
- Macroeconomics cited as excuse for hiking console prices again in the U.S.
- New prices come into effect on Oct. 3
- Xbox handhelds will be released on Oct. 16 in the U.S.
- Next gen Xbox on the horizon with gaming PC performance
Jump to:
Accessories Will Remain Unchanged
Microsoft and Xbox are citing changes in the U.S. macroeconomic environment to hike prices on their flagship consoles again this year while prices on controllers and headsets will remain the same. The new prices will come into effect on Oct. 3, 2025.
The new price tag will range from $399.99 for the Xbox Series S 512 up to $799.99 for the Xbox X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition. While pricing outside of the U.S. may differ between countries due to exchange rates, Xbox does not have any plans currently to suggest any price changes there.
“We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and providing value for Xbox players,” Xbox said on its website.
Aging Tech Getting Price Hikes
The Xbox S and X Series and PlayStation 5 all made their debut in November, 2020, and already saw price increases in May this year even though the technology has aged almost 5 years. The cheapest Xbox console cost $300 when it first sold in the U.S. while the most expensive was $500.
Similarly, PlayStation 5 in the U.S. became more expensive earlier this year in August and now ranges from $499.99 to $749.99. The Vice President of Global Marketing for Sony Interactive Entertainment, Isabelle Tomatis then had a message similar to what Xbox just echoed.
“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on Aug. 21,” she said and added: “The recommended retail price for PlayStation accessories remain unchanged, and we have no other price changes to announce for additional markets.”
10th Gen Consoles On The Horizon
Xbox has already partnered with AMD as evidenced by the AMD Ryzen Z2 A and Z2 Extreme processors powering the Xbox Ally and Ally X handheld devices. It’s safe to say that the next generation of Xbox will also be powered by an AMD GPU, which would bring it closer to the performance of a gaming PC.
Together with ASUS, Xbox has confirmed that the handhelds will be released in the U.S. on Oct. 16, less than 2 weeks after the price of Xbox series consoles will increase. However, prices for the two different models have not been officially announced. Various leaks suggest that the Ally could cost $549.99 while the more powerful Ally X could be as expensive as $899.99. Again, macro economic conditions have been used to explain these prices.
Whether the next gen Xbox will be released next year or early 2027, it will for sure cost upwards of $1,000, which means that console gaming will no longer be affordable for a large portion of casual gamers.
or
