Microsoft raises the price of the Xbox by up to £170

Looking to buy an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S? Microsoft has given would-be purchasers something to think about, by raising the price of the consoles, in turn making them £100 more expensive than the PlayStation 5.

Microsoft first announced the Xbox Series X|S price hike back in June, stating that the “..price of XBOX consoles will increase by US$100 for 512 GB models and US$150 for 1 TB models” from August 1st. They didn’t, at the time, disclose regional rises but, going by the exchange rate, that should translate into a £74 and £111 rise.

However, the actual price rise is as high as £170, if you’re planning on picking up a 1TB Xbox Series X with disc drive. Originally £499.99, that console is now a whopping £669.99 and the Xbox Series S has also shot up in price. Here’s how much each console will set you back (via VGC):

Xbox Series X (1TB, disc drive):

UK – £669.99 (was £499.99, an increase of £170)
Europe – €799.99 (was €599.99, an increase of €200)
US – $799.99 (was $649.99, an increase of $150)

Xbox Series X (1TB, digital):

UK – £619.99 (was £449.99, an increase of £170)
Europe – €749.99 (was €549.99, an increase of €200)
US – $749.99 (was $599.99, an increase of $150)

Xbox Series S (1TB, digital):

UK – £519.99 (was £349.99, an increase of £170)
Europe – €599.99 (was €399.99, an increase of €200)
US – $599.99 (was $449.99, an increase of $150)

Xbox Series S (512GB, digital):

UK – £429.99 (was £299.99, an increase of £130)
Europe – €499.99 (was €349.99, an increase of €150)
US – $499.99 (was $399.99, an increase of $100)

Sony raised the prices of the PlayStation 5 in April, but the PlayStation 5 1TB is still £100 cheaper than the 1TB Xbox Series X, both consoles having disc drives.

“The price increase comes at a strange time for Xbox, with its new head Asha Sharma making moves to try and strengthen the brand,” Rich remarked in June and that still stands. Granted, Sony’s lost a lot of goodwill after announcing it’ll be dropping physical games from 2028, but if you’re going by price alone, it makes the PS5 look like a better deal.

Both Sony and Microsoft are dealing with a shortage of memory chips, hence the recent price rises. We honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we saw another PlayStation price rise towards the end of the year, though Sony has promised it has enough RAM to meet demand. We’ll have to wait and see.