Current-gen Xbox dev kits used to cost $1,500. They’ll now be $2,000 for any game studio who wants to make a game for Xbox Series X/S and doesn’t already have one.
That’s according to a new report from The Verge which says developers received the updated pricing in a recent email from Microsoft. “The adjustment reflects macroeconomic developments,” the email to game development partners apparently reads. “We remain committed to providing high-quality tools and support for your development efforts.”
Microsoft has been blaming “macroeconomic” conditions for all of its recent price hikes without explicitly blaming President Trump’s 30-percent tariffs on Chinese imports as part of the administration’s ongoing trade war. The 33-percent price hike on dev kits comes after similar increases to the price of the Xbox consoles players can buy online and in stores, as well as a 50-percent spike in Game Pass Ultimate membership fees this month.
While the tariffs explain the new barriers to making games for Xbox, the price increase won’t help perceptions that Microsoft is deprioritizing its hardware amid a new multiplatform publishing push and reported mandates from the tech giant’s c-suite to boost profit wherever possible. Game Pass has been a boon to some of the indie developers who get deals with it, but there are also plenty of smaller third-party games that now seem to skip Xbox at launch.
Even Moon Studios, maker of the hit Xbox platformer Ori and the Blind Forest, recently suggested the console port of its top-down Soulslike No Rest for the Wicked would skip Xbox at launch because the investment wasn’t worth the payoff right now. Nevertheless, Microsoft says its still developing next-gen hardware, and did just launch the new Asus-made Xbox Ally PC gaming handhelds. A developer could get two $1,000 Xbox Ally Xs for the price of a new dev kit.
