Microsoft is raising Xbox console prices by up to $150 effective August 2025, while simultaneously discontinuing the 2TB Xbox Series X model entirely, per reporting flagged by Geoff Keighley – making this the third Xbox price hike in roughly 13 months and the first to outright eliminate a SKU rather than simply reprice it. The increases are confirmed as a global rollout via Xbox Wire, meaning buyers in every major market absorb the change at the same time.
Here’s the context: Microsoft has attributed the increases to memory and console storage costs it says are now more than 2.5x higher than previous levels, with the company warning those costs could double again by fall 2027, as reported by TechCrunch. The announcement landed within hours of Apple announcing its own hardware price increases, which TechCrunch framed as part of a broader wave of consumer-electronics repricing driven by component shortages and supply-chain stress. As we covered in our breakdown of Xbox Game Pass subscriber losses, Microsoft has been under sustained financial pressure on the hardware and services side for well over a year – and as we detailed in our coverage of Xbox studio closures and restructuring, the broader platform is being reshaped under significant cost pressure.
Honestly, the corporate framing here – rising memory costs, global supply stress, unavoidable pass-through pricing – is corporate-speak for: Xbox hardware margins were already thin, and Microsoft has decided buyers will absorb the difference rather than the balance sheet. That is not an unreasonable business decision; it is, however, a consequential one timed badly for consumers. India Today noted the increase lands months before Grand Theft Auto 6, the single largest demand catalyst the console market will see in years, which means anyone holding off on a hardware purchase ahead of that release is now looking at a meaningfully higher entry cost. The 2TB discontinuation is the sharper move – removing the premium-end configuration entirely rather than repricing it suggests Microsoft ran the numbers and concluded that a 2TB SKU at a price point that would reflect actual storage costs simply would not sell. That is not a supply story; that is a demand story. The parallel with Valve’s Steam Deck price increases earlier this year is worth holding: when two major platform holders raise hardware prices in the same cycle for the same stated reasons, the stated reasons are probably real – but that doesn’t make the outcome easier for the buyer trying to decide whether to pull the trigger before GTA 6 ships.
Here is the full before/after pricing picture as currently confirmed:
- Xbox Series X (1TB) – price increasing by up to $150; new pricing to be reflected on regional storefronts from August 2025
- Xbox Series X (2TB) – discontinued entirely; will not carry forward at any price point
- Xbox Series S – included in the global pricing reset per Xbox Wire; exact per-region figures to be confirmed on official retail pages closer to the effective date
What remains unclear is whether physical bundles and retailer-specific configurations are subject to the same increases on the same timeline, or whether promotional stock at legacy pricing will remain available through third-party channels into August. The exact region-by-region breakdown – particularly for markets like the UK, Europe, and Australia where currency conversion and import costs already inflate console pricing – has not been fully detailed. It is also unconfirmed whether Xbox Game Pass bundle pricing or any hardware-plus-subscription offers will be restructured alongside the standalone unit changes, which would significantly affect the practical cost of entry for new subscribers.
What to watch: Microsoft’s official Xbox retail pages and regional storefronts should reflect the new pricing ahead of or at the August effective date – that will be the first moment buyers can compare exact figures across all SKUs and markets. The more significant question is whether Sony or Nintendo use the window to announce competing pricing or bundle offers, and whether Microsoft revisits the hardware lineup again if storage costs continue climbing toward the trajectory it flagged for fall 2027.
Does the price increase change your calculus on buying an Xbox Series X before Grand Theft Auto 6 arrives, or does the narrowing gap with PlayStation 5 pricing push you toward Sony’s platform instead? And does a third hardware price hike in 13 months feel like an industry-wide cost reality or a signal that Xbox‘s hardware strategy is under more structural pressure than component prices alone can explain? Sound off in the comments below, and keep your eyes on GameLuster for more Xbox coverage.
