Here's A Breakdown Of The New Prices For Xbox Series X|S Consoles As Of August 2026

it is painful.
especially for what it represents in the broader context

This is ridiculous. Series S prices now are the same or even higher than the Series X was at launch. 499 € for a Series S? Beat it MS.

$600 for a series S is insane

I'm going to forever appreciate having built my PC when I did.

What was once a £70/$90 part, half my RAM specifically, now costs £445/$600.

Let that sink in, only half the RAM in my PC now costs more than a Series S.

No signs of it turning around either.

Going to need some big discounts to ship them for gta6

@Fiendish-Beaver
forgive my lack of details but I read an article that explained why the PS5 is cheaper to build due to decision makes for the RAM and SSD.
it was not a big deal at the beginning, instead now it makes the difference.

said that I prefer the quiet and reliable Series X although I appreciate the more powerful PS5pro.

😆😆😂 You'd have to be high to buy a console at this stage. I'll be riding my launch model until it cant be repaired anymore. Then that might be the end of the road for me. ✌️

I really feel sorry for anyone who didn’t buy a PS5 or XBox before all this insanity started.

Amazing that the Switch 2 is now the best value proposition at the moment, at least till September 1st. And even then, Nintendo could still toss a holiday game pack-in and sweeten the deal.

This will definitely be my last gen gaming because next gen is going to be way out of my price range I'd be surprised if Helix is under £1500 at this point and it's only going to get worse.

I managed to get a brand new series S years ago for less than half what they're asking for now, shocking! not suprised all the kids are shunning consoles and playing free-to-play games on their phones and tablets

Now the 'Everything is an Xbox' ad campaign looks genius.

€450 I paid for my series x and €350 I paid for my series s!
Those prices now are crazy!
I was blessed getting my series x when I did for that price!
I wouldn't buy any of them at current prices!

@Ken_Kaniff I'm mostly high all the time and I still wouldn't Haha 🤣😂😉

I've got a Series X going 'cheap(er)'

Perfect condition. 2 controllers.

Got 2 yr warranty left from CEX

I'll let it go for 400 notes. Bargain.

And I'd STILL be making a profit 🤣

Wasn’t even 3 years ago I bought my Xbox for around $470 in USD and this isn’t too far from almost double that! So crazy.

I can't watch anymore. [deactivates hologram]

@Fiendish-Beaver @Pigrotto is referring to the way the memory is split and the chip. PS5 went with a more standard industry approach which means the chips are cheaper to manufacture/purchase. Series S/X split their memory differently and use a more expensive/custom chip.

Theres also news that as MS is not a hardware maker at heart, it didnt use the same arrangements and pipelines as Sony/Nintendo to secure long term agreements for parts that now cost more. Sony just recently announced they have secured enough memory to see them through to April 2027, crucially meaning its likely it won't need to increase its price over the period GTA 6 releases.

Where as Asha announced in her initial statement that xbox was in a worse position to others due to the lack of these agreements from past leadership. It seems as though that is coming back to bite.

Edit: damn you @themightyant for putting it far more elegant 😂

@themightyant
thank you: clear and well stated.

@Weebleman
thank you for taking the time for the explanation!
have a good day 🙂

This is ridiculous. A trillion dollar company like Msft should easily be able to keep there prices down but Nadella is too greedy.

I really cant see how gaming in general is going to survive this cost crisis.

Microsoft is one the companies that has invested billions in AI and reserved chips / components for AI. Why didn't they reserve chips / components for their own Xbox console?

If they did, right now they would have a huge upper hand in the console market.

@Fiendish-Beaver there was an article on Eurogamer (i think) the other day that went into detail about sony using standard 8 core chips (xbox use a custom 10 core) and the storage methods mightyant mentions, which are cheaper to produce.

The main issue is xbox do not have any long term parts agreements in place so are more vulnerable to the price increases than others. The fact the article the other day said that even after these increases they are still sold at a loss tells you everything. Wheres as EG reported the other day that Sony put PS up by a 100 dollars/pounds and is still profitable.

That's interesting, where I live, there haven't been any Xbox products in any stores for years. It's kind of funny that there's an official price increase for a product you simply can't buy.

With all these prices hikes. I finally sold my Series X to someone upgrading his xbox one. As I already owned a PS5 and lots of ps games too. I tought It was time to sell. I really had great time with Gamepass. I will miss the quickresume though.

The reason I bought an Xbox 3 years ago was to play Flight simulator, Forza, Halo and other exclusives. Almost all gone to playstation. I'm not an expert, but I think Xbox should have kept their exclusive. They seem to change strategy with Gears of war. So let's hope for the best.

I really like the community here at Purexbox. I hope that I'm still welcome!

And yet Asha has decided now is the time to bring back exclusives. These console prices make any sort of brand reset impossible, I just can't understand what the goal is here.

I've loved the Series X generation, it could have had better exclusives and sonner, but with Gamepass, it specifically gave me a chance to catch up on Xbox One exclusives which I missed out on and of course loads of indie gems. I am now however seriously considering selling it for a profit when GTA 6 comes out as I'll either play that on PS5 Pro or wait patiently for PC. I'm fairly certain the second hand console market will see a big bump in activity this autumn.

@Harfang I had a similar experience. Bought the Series X for Flight Simulator when it launched on console for the first time. It was mind blowing. I think Xbox should have kept everything exclusive but money talks. They'll do more business as a publisher across multiple formats although the og Xbox/360 fan in me hopes they can put out another successful console in this insane climate.

I got a Series X from Argos last week, £499.99 with a year to pay it off.
Glad I did as was worried about prices as they never did clarify how much UK prices were going to be. Anything north of £600 and is too high for me to warrant getting one.

UK got screwed, I think it’s because we didn’t get a price rise with the US tariffs (think US has had 3 price rises whilst we’ve now had 2).
Microsoft said the price would go up by $150 worldwide yet put our price up by £170, which is a $228 rise (£1=$1.35).
Uk price (tax included) now converts to $900.

This gen has been crazy, my digital PS5 cost me £360 at launch and is now £520.
My 1TB Series S was £270 (cheapest console I think I’ve ever bought!) two years ago and is now £520.
You can get a 2TB PS5 pro for about the same as a Series X with an additional 1TB storage expansion.

@Fiendish-Beaver im with you. I think committing to the future of xbox is very different to committing to the future of a console. I still believe that the future of xbox will be the full screen app available on the ally. Helix will be nothing more than a pre built PC with branding on the case and the app installed to launch on boot up. The recent developments with back compat on pc only cements this more for me.

Pre built pc for the hardcore that will sell low numbers at a high price, full screen experience available to all on other pc hardware. Xbox lives on and MS are happy as it will be profitable again as they can avoid selling helix at a loss while software sales do the rest. I also believe that they will go full multiplatform again and use low sales of gears to justify why its happening.

All just my opinion of course and as always, happy to be wrong as we need xbox firing on all it has. The latest financials dont fill me with confidence though as its drops across everything from consoles to gamepass revenue.

They are to blame though they are on the AI building data centre race

The techbroligarch criminals have even destroyed gaming with their AI obsession. I've got my launch day XSX, PS5, Switch 2 and a recently bought gaming PC, I couldn't care less about PS6 & Helix. I'm grabbing up as many PS3 and 360 discs as I can, delving more into my backlog, until maybe one day some sanity returns to this hobby. Truly the saddest times we live in right now. 🤦‍♂️

Hello there fellow gamers.
This is kinda insane. My Series X cost me 499.99€ in 2022. And a friend of mine bought a Series S, on a black Friday sale for 199.99€ in 2023... This does not make any sense whatsoever...
To think prices of devices would become more expensive with time, instead of becoming cheaper is crazy... I am very glad I decided to pick up mine when I did... Love that system as well as my day one PS5 with a disc drive and day one Switch 2.
And they just might be the last gaming systems I´ll have bought...
For someone like me, who is still a big fan of this medium, it just makes me sad seeing something so cool and exciting, becoming something not afordable anymore...
Strange times, indeed.
Cheers everyone and enjoy your gaming systems

@Weebleman I agree about Helix being pre built PC with the app.
You’ll be able to access the games you’ve already bought by downloading the PC version via play anywhere and the backwards compatibility push.

They eventually go multi platform and Xbox will in the future (wouldn’t want to put a date on it!) become an app ala Google Stadia. You’ll be able to buy your games through the app and access gamepass.
With the cost of hardware skyrocketing and as people access to high speed internet increases why pay through the nose for a dedicated box that plays digital games when each tv will have access to an app that plays the same.
Just my thoughts 😬

I sincerely think these prices are going to force the industry to hard pivot to cloud gaming, whether we like it or not. I just can’t see how gaming can continue to exist if a massive chunk of the audience can’t afford it (or simply won’t want to pay, even if they can). Payment plans are also a complete scam and will keep savvy consumers away.

@EvenStephen7 I think so.
Payment plans can be okay if they’re 0%.
I would hate to think how much at console would cost over 2 years at standard APR.
Payment plans might have to be the way to go in the short term to make them affordable. (Although it should be said people shouldn’t take on any debt even at 0% if it’s going to push their monthly budget too tight)

Apple phones are like £600-£1000 pound now but people don’t usually think about the overall cost.

I thought it was good when Xbox were doing the two year deals with the gamepass subscription as well.

This will a terrible rest of year and Christmas for Xbox consoles in the UK, where they had just started to make a little ground and pick up a bit recently.

At Christmas Sony and Nintendo do some great UK deals normally, the last two years Xbox have done none, unless that changes this year.

Now is the time to promote and reintroduce Xbox Access with a year to pay so much per month interest free.
Was a fantastic idea in the UK and could help sell some consoles.

This is coming from the company that invested tens of bilious in AI fueling the components crisis, yet had zero foresight on how it will affect their console and hardware business in general.

It's almost a dereliction of duty on Microsoft's part🤣

I also predict at least two U-turns from Sharma's points plan vision once they realise Xbox won't manage a thousand units sold until Christmas in mainland Europe and UK for the reminder of the year.

Crikey, my disc Series X is starting to look like an investment more than a console! I was also thinking about selling my PS5 - at the rate things are going, I may turn a profit on it!

@PWR3700 Microsoft are not gonna keep footing the bill an allow Xbox to lose money. That’s not how they became a trillion dollar company. If Xbox continues to fail Microsoft will end Xbox. They considered it a few years ago until Phil convinced them to buy Activision.

You might as well get a switch 2 at £380 in most stores over a series s.
You might as well get a PS5 Pro over series x, they are getting that close to each other especially series x disc version.

Overall
XBOX console sales will drop to almost zero
PS5 console sales will slow, which they already have.
Switch 2 and Nintendo, give me ya money and laughing. Will sell the most, even after the rise in September.

I’m not clever it’s just written in stone.

…not only does everything kill you in Australia but the Xbox will ruin you financially as well

I'm sure other consoles will eventually increase in price, but right now you would be crazy to buy an Xbox..
Surely they can't be thinking somebody will actually pay that much for a 6-year-old console?

@Fiendish-Beaver
I think the gears e day test could well fail depending what Asha is looking for.
If it is for sale of the game on Xbox consoles it might just get through, but I doubt it.

If it’s to see if the game sells Xbox console it’s totally lost and gone at these new prices.
If that’s the case they have set it up to fail with the price increases.

$1,000 Canadian Dollars for a console that released for $600 CAD in late 2020 is just absolutely insane!!!

This right here is more proof that we really don't need Project Helix/ PS6 to release anytime soon, because no one will be able to afford them! They really need to ride this generation out until these prices go down.

Might as well just remove the consoles from stores and keep them in warehouses till prices come down 😒

@Fiendish-Beaver
So my point, Asha is not daft.

So she is setting gears up to fail, to give a reason/excuse to go full steam ahead with multiplatform.
Anyone can see that and she definitely can, the console price increase gives that clearly.

She knows gears would be a better multi platform than the resent Halo low sales on PS5.
Like she knows FH6 and Fable will do well.

@Fiendish-Beaver
Also she knows the best place to play these games Halo and FH5 and probably FH6 and Fable is a PS5 Pro with 2tb of faster ssd memory just £100 more than a series x 1tb disc console.

@Fiendish-Beaver
Having said all that there is one thing missing on PS5 and Pro that I adore
Quick resume.
If Pro had that it would be the definitive console.
So well done series x.

I think quick resume will disappear with Helix, do you think it will?

Xbox should cancel the 1TB Series S version. £519.99 is the same as the much more powerful PS5 digital (which can have a disc drive added) and is a terrible look tbh.

I can only see someone paying £519.99 for a Series S if all other consoles are sold out and someone is desperate to play GTA 6.

Where I work, you can still get Xbox's at the old prices, but stock is running out fast as everyone is rushing to get a much cheaper one now.

We have shifted a huge amount of Xbox Series X Digitals and Series S's online today. Many are now store collection only. The Series X Disc sold more today than at any other point since launch; we are out of stock company-wide now except for a couple of stores.

The prices are a joke they are 6 year old hardware one thing for sure I will stick with my Xbox series x it will be a cold day in hell when I let Microsoft or any other company rip me off I paid the original price for my Xbox series x and even then I was hesitant to buy it but now the prices are outrageous and forget about the next generation coming out they will be even more if I didn't know any better I would say Microsoft and Sony are trying to put themselves out of Business.

Good job I bought both my Series X Day 1 and got my PS5 a month or two later as I don't think I'd buy either, certainly not both, today and would rather invest that money and the cost of 5yrs+ of PS+/GPC on a PC as that will play ALL the games and won't require a sub fee to play the games I bought. Also as its not 'generational' like Consoles, games released on PC will likely still be playable on PC's in 20yrs time whilst games released on a specific gen of Console maybe locked to that generation - certainly Physical games are likely as future consoles won't have a Disc drive...

People act as if the vanity gaming hobby is the only thing that has gone up in price. Gaming hasn’t kept up with inflation at all. Couple this with the market reality. Which is AI data center demand, drone needs, automotive industry etc, all bid for chip allocations in China or Taiwan. That’s why everything else has gone up in price and will continue to climb. Lastly since the cough era, worldwide demand for consumer electronics never dropped.

Gaming is still a great value per dollar. It’s not the early 2000s anymore in which a console was 300$. Also during that era people made way less across the board compared to today. It’s just inflation. Going to take time to seriously get new places to build chips in the west.

There is no reason to buy an Xbox unless you’re a millionaire. Just get a PS5 Digital and call it a day.

@Vaako007 $300 in January 2000 was worth $593.52 in June 2026, but this site just likes to act like console gaming is more expensive than it’s ever been. Not really true when you factor in the 80 to 90% off sales on many digital games.

If you want a Series X in the UK I would get it straight away from Argos for £499.99. (In the UK anyway)

@AI-Generation The Xbox VRR and input system is much better. (No idea why Sony and Nintendo didn’t do the same. That stuff should be done properly by the platform.) Using the frequency scaling is a bad design choice by Sony as well. There is some stuff with 120ms of input lag on ps5 pro.

Still rocking my series x that I bought during LOCKDOWN, think xmas 20 or possibly 21 I got it. At least 5 years old it is and no issues. Like an above poster said, if it breaks, im done I think

Microsoft just keeps shooting itself in the foot.!!
They are largely responsible for creating the shortage and price hikes of memory in the first place. Now after a fairly hopeful XBOX reset they done this.
Unbelievable!!!!

@h3s
I’ve always liked some the advanced stuff in the series x.
And correct better VRR and LFC and you also don’t need 2:1 VRR on series x you can use 2.0 hdmi as well.
And of course quick resume.

@Katiecooh2313 MSft should take the loss in hardware since it’s their fault for the increases in the first place chasing AI not the Xbox division. They are once again destroying the value of Xbox and will lose even more marketshare.

This isn't an improving situation. AI is buying up all the RAM, there's no incentive for them to open new fabs because the AI bubble might burst, plus they're making an 80% markup on prices. Increasing console prices means a shrinking user base which means less incentive for publishers to greelight new games - especially smaller more experimental titles.

I genuinely think we might not even SEE the next generation of console unless something radical happens. The way prices for the X and PS5 are increasing, Helix is going to be WELL over £1000 when it launches. I mean, look at the Steam Machine - the 2TB model is over £1000 and that's only the power of a PS5 and only has 16GB of RAM and a piddly 8GB of VRAM.

Next gen is cooked.

@Mr-Cage 😆😆😂☠️☠️

@Weebleman @AI-Generation @Fiendish-Beaver I think when you start thinking of xbox as something that lives on PC & cloud, things start to make more sense. I just dont think there is anything at this point that would resurrect the console division. Its too late. Their last chance was the start of this gen with cheap GP, after they bought Bethesda and while Sony has supply issues with PS5. After 2023 or so its been done for xbox consoles.

Seeing lately all the backward compat stuff on PC and xbox mode rollout for all windows machines, it heavily hints on Helix being a pre-built windows PC - whether good or bad depends on a person. I think console folks should look at PS/N or for steamOS if they want PC + ease of use.
I am seriously considering PS6 vs steamOS PC next gen. Will definitely give a fair chance to Helix but what I am certain is I dont want a purely windows machine in its today's form - I enjoy my little xbox rog ally x but experience is subpar.

I think on a console your choice is PS5/6 vs S2. On a PC windows vs steamOS and both are good for its own reasons but as a said above I am very sceptical about having a windows device in a living room. Specifically xbox SX vs ps5 conversation just doesnt make sense anymore...

If you dont own a current gen console I would consider xbox only if you want to deal with PC. I think they lost any proposition as a console - its hard to get, its expensive, barely any exclusives, GP is also a question mark.
There are definitely a lot of arguments for windows gaming so Helix could tailor to some of this audience.
They have a temporary advantage of having console + pc handheld combination with play anywhere but same is applicable to steamOS and reportedly Sony is doing their own handheld so I think next gen this continuity will also face a competition for MS.

@Nic-Noc20th-C she did not lie. They are resetting xbox so now its a PC app & mode
the good news if you own already series X you should be fine for next 5-7+ years as adoption rate for next gen will be slower.
if you dont have it yet, probably no reason to get one today

@Weebleman @Fiendish-Beaver @Millionski
It’s always the UK, since the price increase a few shops have kept the old price for Series X disc and digital.
Over the weekend and still as of today the dam things have been flying off the shelves.
Like everyone loves Xbox consoles all of a sudden.
Not many left and some stores out of stock tonight.
I just don’t get the human race, why do they all of a sudden in large numbers want an Xbox now.
I know the price increase will kick in soon, but selling this amount due it when people didn’t want a Xbox console over the last 5 years.
Crazy times in console world. But it does make me think Xbox has a weird relationship with the UK public and their consoles do have appeal.

November 2020, I picked up a Series X for $499.00. Now it's $799.00. November 2020, I picked up a PS5 for $499.00, and it stated 8K on the box. Now it's $649.00 and it states 4K. The PS5 Pro with a disc drive is over $1000.00 and it also states 4K. Lol. If either one of my consoles dies on me, I'm good. I don't need another one.

@AI-Generation because it's by far the cheapest console on which people will be able to play a certain upcoming game releasing in 3½ months time ! 😁 but only whilst retailers still have the unincreased prices !

@jco83
GTA6 I assume.
Still seems crazy the sudden mad rush to buy one after 5 years.
I been since day one.

@jco83
Well you jinxed that. Argos prices this morning are the new higher series x prices.

Smyths Toys no stock series x disc but have some white digital.

@AI-Generation when FOMO hits, it hits hard 👊 ooof

i've literally just bought one myself

@jco83
That does look shocking at Argos now.
PS5 Digital £520 XSX £620
PS5 disc £570 XSX £670

That will stop sales dead right this second.

@AI-Generation it was gonna happen ! i bought last night from Very, as have an account with them, noticed their prices were still unincreased, and i also had a 10% discount code

@jco83
Enjoy your series x great console with some great features, like quick resume.
And lots of games to play.

@AI-Generation sorry i bought a Series S ! and i literally only bought it for GTA6 ! i used to play GTA4 a lot on Xbox 360 back then.

i was considering getting a Series X, but i don't have a 4K TV, so thought perhaps it would be kinda unnecessary ? (though i'm sure there will be differences in how games run). and also the lower price of course.

@kmtrain83
Someone told me on here Microsoft/XBOX have the patent for quick resume so the other two could not copy it.

It’s a fantastic feature of the series x console.

I know the Switch 2 has half the storage as the Series S, but still having a higher price than the Switch 2 in some regions is confounding.

A huge benefit of the Series S was that it was the cheapest entry into console gaming for players that don't mind a hit in fidelity, a market that heavily overlaps with Switch player base.

I feel that at least Xbox should try to introduce a new Series S SKU with less storage if that can bring down the entry price to $399. I **think** there might be a market for a 256gb Series S, even if it would restrict most players to a single triple A game or a handful AA ones installed at once.

Side note: Xbox REALLY should consider a revision that at least replaces the storage expansion slot with a microSD EX card slot (similar to the Switch). Sure those are still expensive as hell, but people are more likely to have one around somewhere. Alternatively, just a standard NVME compartment slot.

@Weebleman @Fiendish-Beaver @AI-Generation I think the core problem with xbox is identity crisis. Nintendo, Sony and Valve has their philosophy. Even windows PC has - its by far the most open and flexible system for gaming.
But xbox has been in a weird spot since end of last gen.
Xbox consoles - I think philosophy could be game preservation - so double down on backward compatibility, maybe use AI for fps/resolution boost, commit to physical media, release detachable disk drive. I was thinking they could do Xbox Series XL with Helix guts but on xbox console OS, also with physical drive and commit to consoles going forward not just xbox PC hybrids.
Basically do the opposite of PS6 and win those 10-15% of PS audience that wants next gen console and discs. 10% of PS5 install base is like 33% of xbox series so its very significant.

I am 99% sure this is not happening but I think thats the only joker they can pull off right now.

@Millionski @Fiendish-Beaver I honestly dont think adding a disk drive will matter. As the stats said recently, 90 odd percent of sales are digital. Folks on PS won't jump to helix as it wont play the PS games they are trying to keep active. Those who do because it does physical, its such a tiny minority that it wont change the outcome.

The digital and casual crowd massively out weighs folks like us who remember the smell of a good instruction booklet or the excitement of holding a box on a journey home. They will just buy whatever plays the digital library they already own. It really is that simple.

It sucks but folks like us on sites like this are such a tiny drop in the ocean of console sales, there is zero chance of turning the tide. Of the 90 million odd PS5 sales, the vast majority neither know or care about any of this.

It sucks but its where we are.

@Weebleman
remember the smell of a good ole instruction booklet.

Dam you found my fetish 🤣

@AI-Generation I've tried explaining this to my mrs and kids and they think im mental 😂

There is nothing like the smell of a freshly unsealed instruction booklet and I will die on that hill 🤣

@Weebleman
I definitely have to go with the Neo-Geo ones.
You could smell the £200 game cost🤣