Microsoft Announces Global Price Increase for Xbox Consoles, Controllers, Headsets, and Games Due to Market Conditions and Development Costs

Alright, so here’s the thing about Xbox prices right now. Microsoft just decided, on a not-so-sunny Thursday, to bump up prices on their Xbox Series S and Series X consoles. Plus, their controllers, headsets, and even the games are getting steeper. Probably something about “market conditions”—whatever that means—plus development costs shooting up like crazy. So if you’re eyeing an Xbox Series X, you’re going to shell out $599.99. Controllers? $64.99. And brace yourself because games this holiday season might hit $79.99. Yikes. But hey, Xbox Game Pass? No price hike there, thank goodness.

Yep, starting May 1st, the pricing—officially tweaked for consoles and controllers all over the globe. And soon, they’ll bump new, first-party games up to $79.99. Good for Xbox and PC gamers alike, I suppose. Or maybe not.

The Series X packed with 1TB of storage? Now that price tag reads $599.99. That’s a $100 hike, more or less like a surprise party no one asked for. The fancier Xbox Series X with a 2TB beastly drive in Galaxy Black color? Hold onto your wallet—it’s $729.99. Spendy, right? The version sans Ultra HD Blu-ray drive adds $100 too, tagged at $549.99. And the Xbox Series S, which I personally admire for its feisty little horsepower? That’s upped by $80 to $379.99. And the 1TB one? $429.99, my friend.

Anyway—no, wait—I’ve gotta mention accessories. The base wireless controller? $64.99. Wireless headset’s sneaky jump to $119.99. First-party game titles, just for upcoming titles mind you, priced at $79.99, slotting nicely alongside Nintendo’s pricing tactics. Because why not jump on that bandwagon, right?

This impacts not just me, sitting here in the U.S. with eye-rolls at these newly imposed import tariffs, but pals over in Australia, Europe, the UK, and who knows where else. Microsoft is blaming rising development costs and trade policy messiness—uncertainties galore—for all these hikes.

“We know this stinks”—or at least that’s what their official line vaguely suggests. They say they’re carefully considering market conditions and expensive development trends. They claim they’re still all about giving us more games, across more screens, trying to keep Xbox players happy.

And yet—deep breath—Xbox Game Pass prices stand unchanged. Which is nice, because they barely hopped up prices last year. Even squeezed those subscription prices just a tad in June 2023, if I recall correctly.

Seriously, for those who like geeky reads like me, Tom’s Hardware is where it’s at. They’ll keep feeding us the latest tidbits and deep dive reviews. Just smash that follow button on Google News, and boom—you’re in the know.