Microsoft Increases Xbox Console and Peripheral Pricing Across the Globe

[AleksandarK]

Xbox players worldwide are facing sticker shock this week as Microsoft quietly implemented significant price increases across its latest hardware lineup and select first-party titles. The standard Xbox Series X with 1 TB of storage now carries a suggested retail price of $599.99, up from $499.99. The digital-only Series X has jumped to $549.99, and the special Galaxy Black 2 TB edition now lists at $729.99, compared with its original $599.99 launch price. Meanwhile, the more affordable Xbox Series S saw its 512 GB model climb from $299.99 to $379.99. A newly introduced 1 TB version of the Series S is now priced at $429.99. European customers will pay €349.99 for the base Series S and €599.99 for the standard Series X, while in the United Kingdom, those figures are £299.99 and £499.99, respectively.

Microsoft has also raised prices on accessories. The basic wireless controller increased from $59.99 to $64.99 in the U.S., and the Xbox Wireless Headset now costs $119.99 in North America. Some specialized peripherals, such as the Adaptive Controller and Adaptive Joystick, remain at their previous prices, relieving gamers needing those devices. On the software side, specific first-party titles launching this holiday season will carry a $79.99 price tag instead of the usual $69.99. Digital buyers will continue to benefit from Xbox Play Anywhere, which allows a single purchase to cover both console and PC versions at no extra charge. Importantly, Xbox Game Pass subscription fees are unchanged for now, even though Microsoft tweaked console and subscription pricing as recently as mid-2024 and made a minor adjustment in June 2023. In a statement, Xbox leadership acknowledged that these changes will be tough on fans. Still, the leadership said rising development, manufacturing, logistics costs, and ongoing trade-policy uncertainties drove them.



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[GodisanAtheist]

I felt this coming during the Steam winter sale when Psychonauts 2 went from $6 in the Autumn sale to $12 in the Winter sale and then hasn't backed down since. I'm seeing it from more and more publishers too. The era of the $10 complete edition on sale 1 year from release looks like its coming to an end.

Looks like MS is finally looking at PC gamers as the dopamine fueled impulse driven addicts that they are.

I patiently await the "if it's your hobby then who cares how much money you spend" and "PC Gaming is, in the grand scheme of things, a pretty cheap hobby compared to say diamond encrusted Ferrari collecting!" commentary

 

[Arkz]

No one is buying our 4.5 year old console or the insanely overpriced storage upgrade, the competition is outselling it 5:1. What can we do?

Put the price up?

Yeah, that will help.

 

[ZoneDymo]

No one is buying our 4.5 year old console or the insanely overpriced storage upgrade, the competition is outselling it 5:1. What can we do?

Put the price up?

Yeah, that will help.

Hey man, when the consumer sees how expensive it is, that means it must be good, so they will buy it.
Look at all that folks that got the 5090, there is a demographic for this somewhere.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

As predicted, monkey see monkey doo. Nintendo did it, so now MS must do it.

These games are not worth $80. Hell they are not worth $60. Missing features, bugs, terrible performance, ece. All these games should be $10-15 to reflect their early access state.

In good news, this will probably end up with the xbox being axed sooner rather then later when sales totally stop. Opens up the market for a more competent console maker.

 

[Onasi]

@GodisanAtheist
Yeah, and my counterpoint to the rising prices is just… not buying new games. I have a backlog that can last me years, I can wait things out. If things continue on the current trajectory of constantly rising costs, aggressive monetizing and not putting games on sale… meh, I guess I can find another hobby and just replay the classics once in a while. I would hope that this would be the industry burning itself and pricing people out of the market to the point of collapse, but unfortunately, I would agree that the modern gamer is a docile animal that would put up with anything, so there won’t be incentives for the companies to back off.
Still, increasing prices on the console that nobody wants already is a bold strategy, MS. I don’t see this panning out for you, but good luck.

 

[EsaT]

No one is buying our 4.5 year old console or the insanely overpriced storage upgrade, the competition is outselling it 5:1. What can we do?

Put the price up?

Yeah, that will help.

Naah... Why do something logical, when you can do something no one outside management wants?

 

[redeye]

only matters in the USA, because nobody buys the Xbox anywhere else, lol.
you know like 145% tariff is the same as 1000% tariff… after certain point it doesn’t matter because people won’t pay extra…

what games are available only on an Xbox and not on a PC?…

…microsoft needs to pay off the 45 billion they paid for Activision, so raise prices… and the tariff thing is a perfect excuse.

 

[Evrsr]

I felt this coming during the Steam winter sale when Psychonauts 2 went from $6 in the Autumn sale to $12 in the Winter sale and then hasn't backed down since. I'm seeing it from more and more publishers too. The era of the $10 complete edition on sale 1 year from release looks like its coming to an end.

Looks like MS is finally looking at PC gamers as the dopamine fueled impulse driven addicts that they are.

I patiently await the "if it's your hobby then who cares how much money you spend" and "PC Gaming is, in the grand scheme of things, a pretty cheap hobby compared to say diamond encrusted Ferrari collecting!" commentary

Psychonauts 2 has a history of being sold at $15 or so, you can check in steamdb site, sometimes a bit less, sometimes more.

They really are raising the XSS price, really? Let's see:

- It was supposed to be €350 but is being sold at €280 right now... Good luck MS!
- PC Game Pass was raised from 10 to €13 last year, it is still available for €10 in all physical stores.
- Office 365 Family was raised from 100 to 129€, can be subscribed at Amazon for 65€.
- PS5 price was raised, month later is still available for 400€ with a game. Others still 449.

It is the era of fake prices!

 

[TumbleGeorge]

I just learned that there's something called microsoft that sells boxes. Without shoes in.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

@GodisanAtheist
Yeah, and my counterpoint to the rising prices is just… not buying new games. I have a backlog that can last me years, I can wait things out. If things continue on the current trajectory of constantly rising costs, aggressive monetizing and not putting games on sale… meh, I guess I can find another hobby and just replay the classics once in a while. I would hope that this would be the industry burning itself and pricing people out of the market to the point of collapse, but unfortunately, I would agree that the modern gamer is a docile animal that would put up with anything, so there won’t be incentives for the companies to back off.
Still, increasing prices on the console that nobody wants already is a bold strategy, MS. I don’t see this panning out for you, but good luck.

- Yep. I generally budget our $100 for games for the year. For the amount of entertainment games provide + my substantial library of unplayed games, $100 is more than enough. Now it just means I'll buy 5 $20 games instead of 10 $10 games. I'll also be more likely to just buy a game and play it instead of buying something that will just sit in my library and potentially drop to a lower price in the future.

Psychonauts 2 has a history of being sold at $15 or so, you can check in steamdb site, sometimes a bit less, sometimes more.

They really are raising the XSS price, really? Let's see:

- It was supposed to be €350 but is being sold at €280 right now... Good luck MS!
- PC Game Pass was raised from 10 to €13 last year, it is still available for €10 in all physical stores.
- Office 365 Family was raised from 100 to 129€, can be subscribed at Amazon for 65€.
- PS5 price was raised, month later is still available for 400€ with a game. Others still 449.

It is the era of fake prices!

- I've almost never seen a game drop to an all time low price in the Autumn sale, then climb back up in price for the Winter sale, but that's just anecdotal I suppose. It does feel (vibes economy folks) like Steam games are sticking to their higher launch prices (or the standard price is moving upward even for older games) so we're getting -80% off of $70 instead of the $60 or $50 historical standard price point.

 

[claylomax]

No one is buying our 4.5 year old console or the insanely overpriced storage upgrade, the competition is outselling it 5:1. What can we do?

Put the price up?

Yeah, that will help.

I bet you that in Europe is 10:1

 

[Vayra86]

@GodisanAtheist
Yeah, and my counterpoint to the rising prices is just… not buying new games. I have a backlog that can last me years, I can wait things out. If things continue on the current trajectory of constantly rising costs, aggressive monetizing and not putting games on sale… meh, I guess I can find another hobby and just replay the classics once in a while. I would hope that this would be the industry burning itself and pricing people out of the market to the point of collapse, but unfortunately, I would agree that the modern gamer is a docile animal that would put up with anything, so there won’t be incentives for the companies to back off.
Still, increasing prices on the console that nobody wants already is a bold strategy, MS. I don’t see this panning out for you, but good luck.

I'll up the ante there and say 'just don't buy from the big publishers' instead.

Microsoft is simply cashing in on their obtained market share, and all they have obtained is mainstream bullshit. Its easy to avoid. And there's a lot to play that's a lot nicer.

- Yep. I generally budget our $100 for games for the year. For the amount of entertainment games provide + my substantial library of unplayed games, $100 is more than enough. Now it just means I'll buy 5 $20 games instead of 10 $10 games. I'll also be more likely to just buy a game and play it instead of buying something that will just sit in my library and potentially drop to a lower price in the future.



- I've almost never seen a game drop to an all time low price in the Autumn sale, then climb back up in price for the Winter sale, but that's just anecdotal I suppose. It does feel (vibes economy folks) like Steam games are sticking to their higher launch prices (or the standard price is moving upward even for older games) so we're getting -80% off of $70 instead of the $60 or $50 historical standard price point.

Discounts are definitely not as deep as they used to be a few years ago.

 

[Konceptz]

Guess I'm keeping my Xbox One X for a little while longer.....

 

[bonehead123]

the leadership said rising development, manufacturing, logistics costs, and ongoing trade-policy uncertainties drove them.

Yea, well this may be partially true, what REALLY drove them is the....

wait for it.....

wait for it.........

The all new, superspastic, uber-fantastic Donny Syndrome.... hahahaha

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Oh man, thank goodness we were finally getting passed the whole inflation thing...

 

[Onasi]

Oh man, thank goodness we were finally getting passed the whole inflation thing...

Yeah, tariffs will be the new cope. Well, that and “rising development costs” which is just… it’s a self-inflicted wound, isn’t it? Like, games that were perfectly successful used to be made and are still being made by small studios on a budget. Actual game development has never been easier or cheaper with all the tools and off-the-shelf engines available. Not everything NEEDS to be a AAAAA extravaganza with graphics that kneecap a 5090, Hollywood actors, development team of 1000 people and marketing costs that are higher than the ge budget itself. YOU (as in big publishers) chose this for yourself and now live in a perpetual state of “if this bombs we need to cut an entire studio”. Jesus Christ, just pull out a bit, let the industry breathe and stop requiring everything to be a new billion dollar franchise.

 

[R-T-B]

Yeah, tariffs will be the new cope. Well, that and “rising development costs” which is just… it’s a self-inflicted wound, isn’t it? Like, games that were perfectly successful used to be made and are still being made by small studios on a budget. Actual game development has never been easier or cheaper with all the tools and off-the-shelf engines available. Not everything NEEDS to be a AAAAA extravaganza with graphics that kneecap a 5090, Hollywood actors, development team of 1000 people and marketing costs that are higher than the ge budget itself. YOU (as in big publishers) chose this for yourself and now live in a perpetual state of “if this bombs we need to cut an entire studio”. Jesus Christ, just pull out a bit, let the industry breathe and stop requiring everything to be a new billion dollar franchise.

I agree with everything you said except for tariffs being some sort of "cope." The impact of tariffs is well studied, established, and real. And it's... not great.

 

[Naito]

So the world has to subsidise US tariffs?

 

[Paganstomp]

And to think that the Atari 2600, when adjusted for inflation, would cost approximately $1,020 in today's dollars.

 

[chrcoluk]

Looks like subsidisation ended for the consoles then from Microsoft. Or is this all tariff related?

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Looks like subsidisation ended for the consoles then from Microsoft. Or is this all tariff related?

-I'm guessing they're priming the pipe for future price increases.

XSex is basically dead in the water for sales at this point in the sales cycle, so MS is both stopping the per unit loss and also jacking up prices now so when they cut $50 off the price of the sequel it looks like a "good deal".

 

[upt]

And to think that the Atari 2600, when adjusted for inflation, would cost approximately $1,020 in today's dollars.

Yes. And a modern washing machine would cost 10 000 dollars in the 70s...

Normalising prices to compare across eras is sound but comparisons do break down when taken too far.

Comparing tech from an era where vacuum tubes were prevalent to 2025 is one such example.

Not sure if your claims stand up to scrutiny if you're seriously suggesting increasing console prices are fine.
Bang for buck is worsening substantially and it's due to poor competition (and the ensuing enshittification and unchecked corporate greed).

 

[close]

No one is buying our 4.5 year old console or the insanely overpriced storage upgrade, the competition is outselling it 5:1. What can we do?

Put the price up?

Yeah, that will help.

I think MS cares close to nothing about the HW these days. They want the players on their cloud streaming platform. This guarantees they are 100% dependent on MS for everything. No more disks they own, no more offline play, no more "their"* collection of digital games, just endless "pay me or you don't get to play anything".

*You don't own the digital game but it's so much more cumbersome of legally tricky for MS to take your digital games away from the current store model than when you just paid to stream them.

 

[Rightness_1]

This is AMD and nGreedia's fault for raising the cost of graphics cards, with most reviewers giving them a free pass for it, as well as their stupid customers paying basically any price just to get one, MS (and probably Sony next) obviously feel that the squeeze is worth it, as gamers seem to be willing to pay the price, regardless of how extortionate it is.

Next up, $99 for a game becomes the norm.