Microsoft has announced it will be raising the prices of all Xbox consoles, accessories, and games, and the increases are huge. Console and peripheral prices will go up today, May 1, by an enormous amount, while new first-party game prices will all hit $80 by the holidays.
The cost of an Xbox Series S 512 will change today from $299.99 to $379.99, a whopping 27 percent increase. Meanwhile, an Xbox Series X will leap from $499.99 to $599.99, a 20 percent bump.
The more recent Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy has shot up 21 percent to $730, making it more expensive than a PS5 Pro.
When it comes to accessories, we’re looking at a bog-standard Xbox controller going up from $60 to $65, while the Series 2 Elite controller jumps from $130 to $150.
Microsoft has not given a reason for the price increases, but it’s impossible not to assume they are at least in part connected to Trump’s tariffs. While prices for Xbox consoles and accessories are increasing all around the world, the difference is far greater in the U.S. For instance, in the UK the Xbox Series X is increasing from £480 to £500, only a four percent rise compared to 20 percent. (The Series S is changing significantly more, going up 20 percent from £25o to £300, but that’s still a smaller change than in the United States.)
We’ve reached out to Microsoft to ask how tariffs have affected this.
These are all the new prices announced today:
- Xbox Series S 512 $379.99
- Xbox Series S 1TB $429.99
- Xbox Series X Digital $549.99
- Xbox Series X $599.99
- Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition $729.99
And here are the new accessory prices:
- Xbox Wireless Controller (Core) $64.99
- Xbox Wireless Controller (Color) $69.99
- Xbox Wireless Controller – Special Edition $79.99
- Xbox Wireless Controller – Limited Edition $89.99
- Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (Core) $149.99
- Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (Full) $199.99
- Xbox Stereo Headset $64.99
- Xbox Wireless Headset $119.99
Speaking to IGN, Microsoft told the site, “We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development.”
Prices for current games aren’t changing, but Microsoft has announced that by this holiday, we can expect all first-party games to cost $80, matching Nintendo’s pricing for some games on the Switch 2. It seems only a matter of time before Sony declares it will be doing the same for the PS5.
That means this holiday’s Call of Duty will likely be an $80 game, alongside just about everything else you were looking forward to. Of course, this is slightly softened by their inclusion in Game Pass, although that too has gotten more expensive since last year. And, of course, with Game Pass you don’t even notionally own the games.
Sony recently announced further price increases on its own consoles in various parts of the world last month. And with the high prices for the Nintendo Switch 2, video gaming is becoming an extraordinarily expensive hobby.
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