Microsoft has just announced that the price of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles will increase "effective August 1, 2026" in a post on Xbox News Wire. Specifically, the company says that "The price of Xbox consoles will increase by US$100 for 512 GB models and US$150 for 1 TB models. We will also be sunsetting our 2 TB model."
We don't have confirmation on what this will mean in countries outside the US, but we know there will be changes worldwide; the question is how much.
This will make the prices of Xbox consoles in the US as follows:
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Old price | New price |
Xbox Series S 512GB | $399 | $499 |
Xbox Series S 1TB | $449 | $599 |
Xbox Series X 1TB All-Digital | $599 | $749 |
Xbox Series X 1TB Disc | $649 | $899 |
So the Xbox Series S now costs the same as the Series X used to, and is the same price as the PS5 Digital Edition currently costs (though we'll see if that changes again too…).
Fortunately, you have a chance to beat the price rise at the moment — if you're in the US, Walmart has a great discount on the 1TB disc version currently.
We're getting into a real crunch point when it comes to price rises caused by the AI-driven memory crisis.
Apple has just announced a huge suite of price rises, having resisted as long as possible, and the price of the Steam Machine shocked people who were hoping for something more console-level — but Valve says the memory companies had them over a barrel, basically.
It's hard to say if the price rise coming just before the GTA IV launch is a cynical move by Xbox, or if letting us know six weeks in advance, during a sales event, just after GTA VI pre-orders went live is doing us a favor — I'm inclined to lean towards the latter.
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