All eyes have been on Sony to see if it follows in Microsoft’s footsteps and, in response to increased U.S. tariffs, dramatically raises the price of the PlayStation 5 . The company confirmed to investors on Wednesday that it might end up doing exactly that as it faces a potential $680 million hole in its bottom line from the new import taxes on China and other countries.
In a Q&A following its latest earnings report, Sony CFO Lin Tao suggested “passing on” the price of tariffs to players is one of the possibilities the company is taking into account as it tries to forecast the impact of President Trump’s ongoing trade war. Sony confirmed there’s still about three months worth of PS5 inventory already on store shelves in the U.S. that buys it some extra time. If things don’t change, however, CEO Hiroki Totoki said manufacturing some consoles in the U.S. was one possible strategy on the table for getting around tariffs over the long-term.
Sony currently makes most of its PS5s in China, which until recently was subject to an over-100 percent tariff by the U.S. While Trump recently paused that rate for 90 days, a 35 percent import tax still remains in effect, one of the highest in nearly a century. Even on its own that would still be enough to significantly raise the price of the PS5 if Sony chose to pass on the full brunt of the tax. Plus, the 90 day pause would take the company to the end of its existing inventory in the U.S.
“American consumers would pay $12 billion more for video game consoles,” Consumer Technology Association (CTA) wrote in its May 2025 report. “As a result, U.S. consumers reduce overall [game console] purchases by 73 percent.” If Trump decided to bring back even higher tariff rates after that, players could still be faced with $600-$700 PS5s and $900-$1,000 PS5 Pros. Microsoft recently raised the price of the Xbox Series X by $100 and hasn’t yet said anything about bringing that price back down if the tariffs continue to recede.
The uncertainty comes just as Sony reported record profits thanks in large part to its booming gaming business, which has seen PS5 sales continue to match the success of the PS4, while the amount of money individual players spend on the platform on games, microtransactions and subscriptions continues to rise relative to last console generation. Sony sold 18.5 million PS5s last year fiscal year, hit 124 million monthly active users, and saw over 300 million full games sales across the PlayStation platform.
While Grand Theft Auto VI was delayed until May 2026, Sony is releasing both Marathon and Ghost of Yotei in the fall, while also continuing to get multiplatform support from Microsoft in the form of Forza Horizon 5, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Doom: The Dark Ages, and The Outer Worlds 2. The Xbox maker recently hinted that some of its holiday releases will be priced higher, suggesting the next Call of Duty will be $80, a jump Sony hasn’t yet made. Both companies are likely to announce new upcoming games, and any further price increases, around their usual annual summer showcases.
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