Pay to play Microsoft raises prices on Xbox hardware, says “some” holiday games will be $80 You'll have to pay $80 to $100 more for an Xbox console going forward. Kyle Orland – May 1, 2025 9:17 am | 36 Xbox Series S (left), next to Xbox Series X (right). Credit: Sam Machkovech Xbox Series S (left), next to Xbox Series X (right). Credit: Sam Machkovech Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Microsoft is increasing the recommended asking price of Xbox hardware and accessories worldwide starting today and will start charging $79.99 for some new first-party games this holiday season. The announcement comes after "careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development," Microsoft said. In the United States, this means Microsoft's premiere Xbox Series X will now cost $599.99 for a unit with a disc drive (up from $499.99), while the Digital version will cost $549.99 (up from $449.99). On the lower end, a 1 TB Xbox Series S will now cost $429.99 (up from $349.99), while a 512GB unit will cost $379.99 (up from $299.99). The new prices are already reflected on Microsoft's official online store, and Microsoft says it will "provide updated recommended pricing to local retailers." That might leave a small window where you can get Xbox hardware and accessories from those retailers at the older, lower price while supplies remain available. For headsets specifically, Microsoft said that pricing will change "in the US and Canada only," a potential recognition of the Trump administration tariffs on foreign goods imported into the United States. Microsoft also warned that "Xbox Series S and X availability may continue to change over time depending on the retailer and by country" as those tariffs threaten to upend international trade worldwide. On the software side, Microsoft said the increase to $79.99 will apply to both digital and physical versions of "some" new games this holiday season. Existing Xbox games will not be seeing a price increase, and "different games and expansions will continue to be offered at a variety of price points." A new pricing era Today's announcement marks the first time in the history of the Xbox line that Microsoft has raised the recommended asking price for its gaming hardware in the United States. The move stands in stark contrast to the Xbox One era, for example, when the struggling Xbox One saw a series of price drops that undercut the launch price by a full 50 percent after just three years on the market. While Sony raised the price of the PlayStation 5 in many international regions back in 2022, those price increases did not affect the United States (which remains the largest market for game console sales). The Xbox Series X is now substantially more expensive than the PS5 in the US, where you can currently buy a "slim" console bundled with Astro Bot for $449.99. Microsoft's foreshadowing of $80 first-party software, meanwhile, comes just weeks after Nintendo announced the same price point for Switch 2 launch title Mario Kart World, and just a few years after $70 became the de facto price ceiling for big-budget games. Despite the nominal sticker shock, though, the new $80 price level is broadly in line with the last few decades of inflation-adjusted game pricing. Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 36 Comments