An $800 Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Third Console Price Rise in 13 Months
The Xbox Series X launched at $499 in 2020. Since August 1, 2026 it costs $799.99 in the US, and Microsoft says memory and storage costs have risen more than 2.5 times. How Xbox got here, and what it means for the next console.
When the Xbox Series X launched on November 10, 2020, it cost $499, and the smaller Series S cost $299. Microsoft's pitch was power for the money. Six years later, the most powerful Xbox costs $799.99 in the US, more than a PS5 Pro was at launch.
On June 25, 2026, Microsoft announced that Xbox Series X|S prices would rise worldwide from August 1: by $100 for 512GB models and $150 for 1TB models. It was the third Xbox console price rise in about 13 months. Microsoft also confirmed it was discontinuing the 2TB Series X for good.
The new prices
From August 1, 2026, US prices are:
- Xbox Series S 512GB: $499.99 (from $399.99)
- Xbox Series S 1TB: $599.99 (from $449.99)
- Xbox Series X Digital 1TB: $749.99 (from $599.99)
- Xbox Series X 1TB: $799.99 (from $649.99)
The Series S, designed as the cheap way into the current generation, now costs as much as the Series X did at launch.
Three rises in 13 months
Microsoft's price rises came in quick succession:
1. In May 2025, the Series X went from $499.99 to $599.99 and the Series S from $299.99 to $379.99, as Microsoft cited market conditions and rising development costs. 2. In October 2025, prices rose again, by between $20 and $70, taking the Series X to $649.99 and the Series S to $399.99, with US tariffs a major factor. 3. In August 2026, the latest and largest rise.
This time Microsoft was unusually specific about the reason. It said "console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x," and reminded players that consoles are usually sold for less than they cost to make. In other words, every Xbox sold at the old price was losing more money as memory costs climbed.
Xbox is not alone
Every major console maker raised prices in 2026. Sony put the PS5 up by $100 in the US from April, to $649.99, and the PS5 Pro to $899.99. Nintendo raised the Switch 2 to $499.99 from September. Valve's Steam Deck OLED went up by $240 to $300 in May.
But the Xbox rises are the steepest in percentage terms, and they come at a difficult moment for Microsoft's hardware business. Xbox has moved many of its games to PlayStation and PC, launched the Windows-based ROG Xbox Ally handhelds with Asus in October 2025, and put more weight on Game Pass and cloud streaming. Higher console prices make it even more likely that players choose to play Xbox games somewhere other than an Xbox.
What it means for the next Xbox
The bigger question is what this means for Microsoft's next console. AMD chief executive Lisa Su said in February 2026 that development of the next-gen Xbox, using an AMD semi-custom chip, was "progressing well to support a launch in 2027." Memory makers, meanwhile, warn that supply will stay tight through 2027 and possibly 2028.
A new console needs a lot of memory. If prices stay where they are, the next Xbox will either cost far more than any Xbox before it or lose a great deal of money on every unit.
Why it matters
An $800 Xbox is a symbol of how the economics of console gaming have changed. The old promise, that hardware gets cheaper and more people join as a generation goes on, has broken down.
WGC's take: if you already own a Series X|S, Game Pass and the existing library are still excellent value. If you are buying in, compare carefully: in the US, a Series S now costs as much as a Switch 2, and many Xbox games also run on PC and PlayStation. For the full picture, read our long read on the RAM crisis.