Xbox price increase isn’t solely due to tariffs, says former Microsoft and Blizzard executive
Microsoft is using tariffs as “an excuse to raise prices” according to Mike Ybarra
💰 Mike Ybarra, former Microsoft and Blizzard executive, claims recent Xbox price increases are because of profit issues, not solely tariffs
📈 Ybarra differentiates the latest price hike from an earlier one in May, stating the current increase lacks tariff justification
🤷♂️ Microsoft attributes the price increases to “changes in the macroeconomic environment,” with significant jumps for Xbox Series X and S models
😔 Other major console manufacturers, Sony and Nintendo, have also recently increased the prices of their PlayStation and Switch consoles, marking a new trend of hardware becoming more expensive
Mike Ybarra, the former Blizzard president and Corporate VP of Microsoft, has said that the recent Xbox price increase isn’t solely because of tariffs in the US.
In a post on X, Ybarra said: “Console price increases are not tariff issues, they are profit issues. And the reason profits are not where they should be is a far, far deeper issue vs. the tariff excuse.”
Ybarra qualified his statement in a reply by saying the Xbox console price increase in May was justified due to the rise in tariffs but the recent price hike isn’t related.
“An excuse to continue raising prices, with no new increase in tariffs, is simply a different problem,” Ybarra said, “and they are going to make consumers continue to pay for those problems.”
Microsoft has blamed “changes in the macroeconomic environment” for the substantial increase in Xbox console prices. The Xbox Series X now costs $649.99, while the 512GB Xbox Series S is $399.99. That’s a $150 increase on the Xbox Series X and a $100 increase on the Xbox Series S launch prices of $499.99 and $399.99.
Microsoft also raised the price of the Xbox Series S 1TB to $449.99, which is the same price as a Nintendo Switch 2.
Sony recently announced a price hike in the US for its PS5 consoles. The PS5 now costs $549.99 (up from $499.99), the PS5 Digital Edition costs $499.99 (up from $449.99) and the PS5 Pro now costs $749.99 (up from $699.99).
Even the Nintendo Switch, a console that was released in 2017, got its first ever price increase in the US. Nintendo raised the price of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch OLED, and Nintendo Switch Lite by $50.
This is the first console generation where hardware has become more expensive instead of becoming significantly cheaper. Unfortunately, there’s no sign that this trend will end soon.
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Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.