Oh boy, so Microsoft decided to make our wallets cry again—hiked up the Xbox prices, like, everything’s just going up now. I mean, seriously, the Xbox Series X, which used to be cheaper by a hundred bucks, is now $599.99. I wonder if it feels any heavier with all this price increase. Controllers are now $64.99 — not sure what kind of magic dust they sprinkled, but hey, that’s the deal.
Why? “Market conditions” and “rising costs” they say. Sure, like we’re not already drowning in expensive stuff. Microsoft also threw in that some new games (the ones you actually want) will kick off at $79.99 this holiday. I mean, I get inflation, but come on.
It’s not just the U.S. feeling the pinch. Europe, the UK, Australia—they’re all in the same boiling pot of expensive gaming gear. Funny enough, the Game Pass is just chilling with no price hike. Maybe they thought about upping it too but bailed last minute? Who knows.
Oh, right, the Xbox Series stuff. The 1TB Series X jumped to $599.99 — that’s the one I mentioned, but there’s this fancier version in Galaxy Black (sounds like a chocolate bar) at $729.99. The cheaper Series S didn’t get left behind either — now at $379.99 for 512GB. Guess saving money isn’t a thing in Microsoft land anymore.
Accessories? Yup, they got pricier too. The wireless headset’s now $119.99. It’d better sing me to sleep at that rate. First-party games during the holidays might hit $79.99, keeping up with Nintendo’s style, I guess. Anyone feeling nostalgic for when gaming was supposed to be a budget-friendly escape?
Anyway, tariffs, trade issues, blah blah. Seems like everything just converged into this price chaos. Microsoft claims they thought about it—carefully—probably while sipping overpriced lattes. Even with these hikes, they claim they’re still all about gaming value and accessibility, whatever that means.
I hope at least the Game Pass stays put for now, since they already nudged it up a while back in 2024. Not sure why they keep playing price ping-pong, but I guess it keeps us on our toes (and broke). Stay tuned for more price hikes, I guess?
