Microsoft has said it’s bumping up prices for its Xbox consoles, in addition to accessories such as controllers and headsets, and also some games.
The price increases will come into effect across the U.K., Europe, North America and Australia to begin with, and will probably roll out to other regions later.
In terms of the Xbox consoles, the more affordable Xbox Series S, which currently costs around £250, will have its recommended retail price hiked up to around £300, Microsoft said.
The more expensive Xbox Series X, which boasts more processing power and storage space, will be increased from a recommended retail price of £450 to £500, the company said. In addition, the company said that the availability of the Xbox Series S and Series X consoles “may continue to change over time, depending on the retailer and by country”. That suggests the company may be having some logistics problems, and so the devices may be hard to come by in some parts of the world. But it’s not clear what the company really means.
The price increases are also going to impact controllers, with the standard wireless version set to go up to £60 from its existing price tag of £55. In addition, the price of the official Xbox headset will also go up in the U.S. and Canada – but fortunately not the U.K. and other markets.
Last, Microsoft said that some first-party games are also going to see higher prices. It explained that some titles will cost as much as $80 in the U.S. by the time the “holiday season” comes around. We assume that means the Christmas holidays, but we can’t be sure as it didn’t clarify. It hasn’t said if games will cost more in other countries, like the U.K.
Microsoft said the price increases are necessary because of “market conditions” and the expanding costs of development. It may well be that the company is fearful of the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and is planning accordingly, but we can’t be sure.
In any case, it’s not only Microsoft that’s taking steps to navigate the economic uncertainty that primarily seems to stem from Trump’s policies. Last month, Sony revealed that it’s raising its asking prices for the PlayStation 5 console, blaming a “challenging economic environment”. Nintendo has also raised a few eyebrows by slapping a hefty £430 price tag on its new Nintendo Switch 2 console, which is currently available for pre-order. Games for that console will be priced similarly to Xbox games.
Microsoft faces a big impact from Trump’s tariffs, as the vast majority of its consoles and components are manufactured in China, which has been slapped with much higher rates than any other country. By raising prices globally, it may be able to offset some of the increased costs for U.S. customers, though its strategy is not entirely clear.
In any case, it’s likely a sign of things to come, and don’t be surprised to see price increases on many other consumer products soon, including – possibly – some TVs.
