Microsoft Announces Massive Xbox Console Price Hike, Xbox Games To Cost $80

Microsoft has announced it volition beryllium raising the prices of each Xbox consoles, accessories, and games, and the increases are huge. Console and peripheral prices volition spell up today, May 1, by an tremendous amount, portion caller first-party crippled prices volition each deed $80 by the holidays.

The outgo of an Xbox Series S 512 volition alteration contiguous from $299.99 to $379.99, a whopping 27 percent increase. Meanwhile, an Xbox Series X volition leap from $499.99 to $599.99, a 20 percent bump.

The much caller Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy has changeable up 21 percent to $730, making it much costly than a PS5 Pro.

When it comes to accessories, we’re looking astatine a bog-standard Xbox controller going up from $60 to $65, portion the Series 2 Elite controller jumps from $130 to $150.

Microsoft has not fixed a crushed for the terms increases, but it’s intolerable not to presume they are astatine slightest successful portion connected to Trump’s tariffs. While prices for Xbox consoles and accessories are expanding each astir the world, the quality is far greater successful the U.S. For instance, successful the UK the Xbox Series X is expanding from £480 to £500, lone a 4 percent emergence compared to 20 percent. (The Series S is changing importantly more, going up 20 percent from £25o to £300, but that’s inactive a smaller alteration than successful the United States.)

We’ve reached retired to Microsoft to inquire however tariffs person affected this.

These are each the caller 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 present are the caller 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 recognize that these changes are challenging, and they were made with cautious information fixed marketplace conditions and the rising outgo of development.”

Prices for existent games aren’t changing, but Microsoft has announced that by this holiday, we tin expect each first-party games to outgo $80, matching Nintendo’s pricing for immoderate games connected the Switch 2. It seems lone a substance of clip earlier Sony declares it volition beryllium doing the aforesaid for the PS5.

That means this holiday’s Call of Duty volition apt beryllium an $80 game, alongside conscionable astir everything other you were looking guardant to. Of course, this is slightly softened by their inclusion successful Game Pass, though that excessively has gotten much costly since past year. And, of course, with Game Pass you don’t adjacent notionally ain the games.

Sony precocious announced further terms increases connected its ain consoles successful assorted parts of the satellite past month. And with the precocious prices for the Nintendo Switch 2, video gaming is becoming an extraordinarily costly hobby.

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