Microsoft increases Xbox prices for the third time in 13 months, as the memory shortage pushes the cost of the Series X to $800.
Microsoft is increasing the prices of all Xbox consoles by $100 to $150, effective August 1. This adjustment brings the Xbox Series X with a disc drive to $800, marking a $300 rise from its original launch price of $500 in November 2020. This marks the third price hike for Xbox in just over a year.
The 512-gigabyte models will see a $100 increase, while the one-terabyte models will rise by $150. The Xbox Series S will be priced at $500 for the 512-gigabyte version and $600 for the one-terabyte model. The digital Xbox Series X will now retail for $750.
Additionally, Microsoft is discontinuing the two-terabyte Xbox Series X, referring to this as “sunsetting.” The company stated on Xbox Wire that storage and memory prices have more than doubled, with an expectation that these costs will double again by fall 2027. "We had hoped another price increase wouldn't be required," the company mentioned.
This announcement coincided with Apple's price hikes for its Mac and iPad products, which also attributed the increases to a memory shortage. Earlier this year, Apple discontinued the $600 Mac Mini after a significant 90 percent surge in DRAM prices driven by major manufacturers shifting focus to high-bandwidth memory for AI data centers. On Thursday, Apple raised prices for MacBooks, iPads, and home devices while keeping iPhone prices steady.
Historically, gaming consoles have been sold at or below their manufacturing costs, with companies recovering expenses through game sales, subscriptions, and accessories. This model relies on stable component prices, but when memory costs double, subsidizing hardware becomes economically unsustainable.
Microsoft initially raised Xbox prices in May 2025, increasing the Series X from $500 to $600. A second increase followed in October 2025, pushing the Series X to $650. The latest increase represents the largest change, adding $150 to the one-terabyte Series X in one go.
To help mitigate the financial impact, Microsoft is offering buy-now-pay-later options through the Microsoft Store, allowing customers to spread payments into short-term, interest-free installments. The company framed this financing option as a response to the “challenging” pricing environment.
Microsoft is not the only company adjusting prices. Sony has also raised prices multiple times, with the PS5 disc edition now costing $650 and the PS5 Pro at $900. Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch 2, initially priced at $450 upon its launch in June 2025, will increase to $500 in September.
The memory crisis driven by AI has placed GoPro on the verge of collapse and eliminated the sub-$100 smartphone market in India and Africa. Gaming consoles are the latest consumer electronics to bear the costs arising from an industry-wide shift in memory production toward AI infrastructure.
The $500 console price point, which persisted from the Xbox 360 era through the Series X launch, seems to be a thing of the past. Now, at $800, the Xbox Series X is priced higher than many gaming PCs and is close in range to the $900 PS5 Pro. Whether gamers will continue to pay these elevated prices remains an unanswered question for Microsoft.
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