Xbox games facing new £80 price tag as console prices rise by £50

Metro

01-05-2025

It's not only Xbox consoles and controllers that are increasing in price but the games too, with Microsoft blaming adverse 'market conditions'.
Microsoft revealed only this week that sales of their various Xbox consoles are continuing a downward trend, with hardware revenue dropping by 6% in the last three months. Sales have been falling for years now and they're unlikely to be helped by Microsoft's latest annoucement: a worldwide price increase for all Xbox hardware… and software.
Sony has already announced a £40 price hike for the PlayStation 5 digital edition, but not the disc version or the PS5 Pro. This was blamed on 'a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates.'
Microsoft's justification is even vaguer, with mention only of unfavourable 'market conditions' and increased development costs – the latter a reference to the fact that major triple-A titles will be seeing a price increase to $80 in the US.
$80 is only £60 but currently major titles in the US, such as Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 and most Sony first party titles, are priced at $70, with the equivalent in the UK being £70. That suggests that this new price increase will likely be £80.
'We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration,' said Microsoft in a statement. 'Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and ensuring value for Xbox players.'
In terms of hardware prices, the Xbox Series X will see an increase of £20, to £499.99; while the 2TB Xbox Series X will increase by £40 to £589.99; and the Xbox Series S will see a massive £50 jump, to £299.99.
For once, and no doubt thanks to the tariffs, the US seems to have it worse, with the Xbox Series X price rising $100 and the 2TB model up by $130.
That means there is hope that the $80 price rise will not be as much as £80 and possibly will not happen at all, as at the moment all that's been announced is the US increase.
We asked Microsoft for clarification but were told only that, 'Local pricing may differ across countries and platforms. These differences reflect regional considerations including foreign exchange rates and market conditions.'
The only real silver lining is that existing games will not increase in price, it's just new titles from this Christmas.
'This update will apply to physical and digital versions. That said, different games and expansions will continue to be offered at a variety of price points,' says a new Q&A on the subject.
The same website also notes UK prices for all Xbox controllers, but they're less affected than the US, with only the Elite Series 2 (Full) seeing a £10 increase to £169.99.
The news comes only weeks after Nintendo announced their prices for Switch 2 games, which vary considerably by title but at the highest end costs £67 for the digital version of Mario Kart World and £75 for a physical copy. More Trending
As many suspected, this seems to be merely the vanguard of an industry wide wave of price rises. Rumours suggest that GTA 6 could cost up to £100 – with other publishers eager to charge the same for their games, if that price is accepted by customers.
Video games are unquestionably more expensive to make now than they've ever been but it's unclear whether that or tariffs are the primary reason for Microsoft's software increase.
Although tariffs should only affect the US, given most Xbox hardware is made in China, many companies, whether in the games industry or not, will be looking to limit price increases in the huge US market by also increasing prices elsewhere, if only by a smaller amount.
Microsoft is never going to admit that's the case, any more than Nintendo or Sony would, but it certainly seems as if a new era of more expensive video game software and hardware is firmly upon us.
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