- Microsoft has announced more increases in Xbox prices a day after GTA 6 pre-orders went live.
- The price increase has been attributed to the global shortage of memory and storage components and will go into effect on August 1, 2026.
- Players will have to cough up an extra $100 for the cheapest Xbox option to play GTA 6.
Microsoft has announced a global hike in Xbox Series X/S prices, jacking up the cost for its entire lineup of next-gen hardware. The increase in prices, which adds up to $150 to the cost of a console, was announced on June 25, 2026. This comes just after Rockstar Games officially opened pre-orders for GTA 6.
Xbox Has Raised Console Prices for the Third Time and Increased the Barrier for Entry to GTA 6
In a recent Xbox Wire post, Microsoft revealed the new prices for all of its consoles, which will come into effect starting August 1, 2026. This increase in prices also comes with the confirmation that Microsoft will be sunsetting its 2TB Xbox Series X model. Here is a breakdown of the old and new prices for next-gen Xbox consoles:
- Xbox Series X 1TB with disc drive: $800 (Old price – $650)
- Xbox Series X 1TB all digital: $750 (Old price – $600)
- Xbox Series S 512GB: $500 (Old price – $400)
- Xbox Series S 1TB: $600 (Old price – $450)
With these new changes, the Xbox Series S, which was originally marketed as an affordable $299 next-gen console, will now cost a staggering $499 for its base model. Previous Xbox price hikes from Microsoft were attributed to vague economic factors. Now, however, Microsoft has clarified that the global shortage of memory and storage components is the clear cause behind the recent price hike.
In the official blog, Xbox stated: “We hoped another price increase would not be necessary. Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x, and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles.”
Furthermore, Microsoft highlighted that consoles are generally sold at a loss or at cost, with the company largely relying on software sales to make up the difference. However, with component costs increasing with each passing day, the company can no longer subsidize the hardware.
This new price hike could not come at a worse time for gamers. Just yesterday, Rockstar Games opened pre-orders for GTA 6, introducing an $80 standard edition and a $100 GTA 6 Ultimate Edition. Since GTA 6 will be skipping last-gen hardware, players around the world just saw their cheapest route to playing the title jump by $100 overnight.
Alongside these price changes, Xbox has announced features like Buy Now, Pay Later, which will allow players to pay for their consoles in installments. However, the Xbox price hike sends a clear message to players: either secure an Xbox console before August 1, 2026, or prepare to pay a premium to play the most anticipated game of all time.
