Xbox console prices went up worldwide on August 1, 2026 — the third increase since May 2025. Microsoft confirmed the hike on Xbox Wire, and it hits every SKU: the Series X jumps to $799.99 and the Series S to $499.99, with the 2TB Series X model discontinued outright.
The New Xbox Prices
In the US, the increase breaks down by storage tier: 512GB models (Series S) went up $100, and 1TB models (Series X) went up $150. Here’s where that lands:
- Xbox Series X (1TB): $799.99 (up from $649.99)
- Xbox Series S (512GB): $499.99 (up from $399.99)
- Xbox Series X (2TB): discontinued — no longer sold
The hike isn’t US-only. Microsoft raised prices across every region it sells consoles in, with increases reaching up to €200 in the European Union and £170 in the UK — proportionally steeper than the US bump in some markets.
Why Microsoft Keeps Raising Prices
Microsoft’s stated reason is components, not margin-chasing: storage and memory prices have climbed more than 2.5x over the past year, and industry forecasts point to prices roughly doubling again by fall 2027. Consoles are historically sold at a loss or at break-even — Microsoft and Sony both subsidize the hardware and make their money on games, subscriptions, and services. When the NAND flash and DRAM that go into a console spike this hard, the console price moves with it.
This is the same DRAM/NAND supply crunch that’s been pushing GPU and RAM prices up all year on the PC side — Microsoft is just the latest hardware maker forced to pass the cost along instead of absorbing it.
It’s also not a one-time correction. This is the third Xbox price increase since May 2025, following a smaller $20–$70 US bump in October 2025. Stack the two most recent hikes together and Series X buyers are now paying at least $170 more than they were before October — before even counting the original May 2025 increase. Two hikes in nine months is a pattern, and Microsoft hasn’t signaled this is the last one if component costs keep climbing into 2027.
Retail pricing hasn’t fully caught up yet, either. As of publication, Amazon’s listing for the Series X showed $754.94 — below the new $799.99 MSRP, which suggests either leftover pre-hike stock working through the system or a lag before third-party listings sync to Microsoft’s new price sheet. Don’t count on that gap lasting; it typically closes within days of an announced hike.
What This Means If You’re Buying a Console Now
If you were already planning to buy an Xbox, the calculus hasn’t fundamentally changed — you’re just paying more for the same hardware. The Series X remains the stronger buy for anyone who wants disc support and headroom for 4K gaming at up to 120fps; the Series S is still the cheaper entry point for anyone who mainly streams or plays digital-only.
The bigger question is timing. With component costs still rising through 2027 by Microsoft’s own framing, there’s no strong signal that waiting gets you a better price later — if anything, the opposite. If the console fits your budget today, waiting for a “sale” that undoes a cost-driven price hike is a bad bet. Xbox has separately been dealing with softer console revenue this year even as its player base grows, which suggests Microsoft is leaning harder on hardware margin rather than eating the increase.
If you’re gaming on PC instead and the console price hike doesn’t change your plans, our breakdown of handheld gaming PCs as Steam Deck alternatives covers the other side of that budget decision.
Check Xbox Series X price on Amazon →
Source: Xbox Wire, corroborated by Console Monster and ThisWeekInVideoGames reporting on the August 1 rollout.
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