Xbox Price Increases Follow Huge Switch 2 Pre-Sales
Nintendo’s decision to charge so much for their new console and games is rubbing off on the rest of the video game industry. Today, Microsoft announced that it will be raising the prices of Xbox consoles, games, controllers, and headsets. The Xbox Series X console will now cost $599.99, up from $499.99 (and $549.99 from $449.99 for the digital version), while the price of the Xbox Series S will increase from $299.99 to $379.99 for the 512GB version and $429.99 from $349.99 for the 1T version. First-party games – which IGN expects will include games in franchises like Call of Duty and Gears of War – will now cost $79.99, the same price as the most expensive Switch 2 games. The price hikes for consoles and accessories are in effect now, while the games will see their price tags go up around Christmastime. (I’ll understand if you have your shocked face on for that shocking tidbit of shocking information.) You can see the new price list for Xbox consoles and accessories in the list below courtesy of X account Wario64, taken from the IGN article:
Microsoft Raises the Price of All Xbox Series Consoles, Xbox Games Confirmed to Hit $80 This Holiday https://t.co/AGAkYmdiDo
Xbox Series X now $599.99 pic.twitter.com/aqYwaWOAPI
— Wario64 (@Wario64) May 1, 2025
Obviously, gamers aren’t thrilled about the Xbox price hikes because… who would be? You can spout all the market laws and commonsense arguments you want, but nobody wants to pay more for the things they like. IGN also points out that video game companies have jacked up the prices of their systems and games in the recent past, with Sony asking more for the PlayStation 5 in a number of regions three years ago and modern games increasing in price to $69.99. And that’s fine, but I think you’d have to be crazy not to believe that Nintendo’s pricing of the Switch 2 and its games had nothing to do with this. Microsoft was almost certainly watching to see if Nintendo’s gamble would pay off, and when Switch 2 pre-orders sold out on their first day – and websites crashed because of the number of customers reserving their copies of the new system – the suits were almost certainly licking their chops in anticipation. The message was clear: gamers will pay more for a system and games they want. Someone was going to follow suit, and Microsoft got there first. Whether Sony will similarly increase their prices remains to be seen, although it might be smart business to go the opposite route and lower the PlayStation 5 prices to try to get some win over some wafflers (like me; this is in no way an attempt to sway Sony into making the PS5 cheaper so I’ll finally get it, but also, it kind of is). I’m not sure if companies actually think like that anymore, but making oneself the cheaper alternative could pay off in the long run.
Then again, why leave money on the table? Gamers have proven that they’ll go along with price hikes despite a lot of complaining on social media. The time to nip this in the bud was when the Switch 2 went up for pre-sales, but that didn’t happen. And I’m not judging anyone; there are things I’ll pay a higher price for because I like them. Video games are also a special case because different gamers are supporters of different companies and systems; if you prefer to play on Nintendo systems than Sony or Microsoft ones, you’ll more likely than not pay more money for a Switch 2 than hold out for a console you don’t really want. Is there a limit to how much gamers will pay for games or the system of their choice? I’m sure there is, just as I have limits on what I’ll pay for the things I like, but the industry hasn’t found that limit yet, and apparently, it’s not $80 for Mario Kart.
Let us know what you think of the Xbox price increase in the comments!
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