Microsoft’s May 2025 announcement raised U.S. prices across the Xbox Series S and Series X lineup and said some new first-party games would cost $79.99 that holiday. The game-price plan changed: in July, Xbox said full-priced holiday releases, including The Outer Worlds 2, would remain at $69.99. Xbox later announced another worldwide console increase, effective August 1, 2026.
Did Xbox raise the price of all Series X|S consoles?
Microsoft’s May 1, 2025 announcement raised recommended retail prices for Xbox hardware and accessories, covering the Series S and Series X lines. The listed U.S. prices varied by model, storage and disc-drive configuration. The figures below are Microsoft’s U.S. schedule as of October 3, 2025, not current 2026 prices.
| Console configuration | U.S. price as of October 3, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Xbox Series S, 512 GB | $399.99 |
| Xbox Series S, 1 TB | $449.99 |
| Xbox Series X Digital | $599.99 |
| Xbox Series X | $649.99 |
| Xbox Series X, 2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition | $799.99 |
Microsoft’s October 3, 2025 U.S. price schedule distinguishes these configurations; it should not be read as a current price list.
The later worldwide increase
On June 25, 2026, Xbox announced that prices would rise worldwide effective August 1: US$100 for 512 GB models and US$150 for 1 TB models. Xbox also said it would sunset the 2 TB model. The announcement does not provide a complete new U.S. price schedule by model, so those increases cannot safely be added to the October 2025 figures to produce current prices.
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Xbox attributed the increase to component costs. In its announcement, the company said console storage and memory prices had increased by more than 2.5 times and forecast another doubling by fall 2027. Those are Xbox’s explanation and forecast, not independently verified measurements or an outcome that has already occurred. Read Xbox’s June 25, 2026 announcement.
Are Xbox games going to cost $80 this holiday?
Not as a general rule, and not for the full-priced 2025 holiday releases covered by Xbox’s later statement. On May 1, 2025, Microsoft said some new first-party games would be priced at $79.99 that holiday, in both physical and digital formats. It did not announce an $80 price for every Xbox game; existing games were excluded, and Microsoft said games and expansions would continue to have varied prices.
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- What's in the box: Xbox Series X console, 1 Xbox Wireless Controller - Carbon Black, Ultra High Speed HDMI cable, Power cord.
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- Memory: 16GB GDDR6 w/320 bit-wide bus; Memory Bandwidth: 10 GB @ 560 GB/s, 6 GB @ 336 GB/s; Internal Storage: 1TB Custom NVME SSD
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On July 23, Xbox reversed the planned price for The Outer Worlds 2 and said full-priced holiday releases, including that game, would stay at $69.99. A spokesperson told Windows Central: “We’re focused on bringing players incredible worlds to explore, and will keep our full priced holiday releases, including The Outer Worlds 2, at $69.99 – in line with current market conditions,” Windows Central reported. Its update said Microsoft confirmed the change’s rollout in the UK and EU as well.
The May announcement and July revision are described in Ars Technica’s May 1, 2025 report and the July report above. The $79.99 announcement was a proposed price for some first-party releases, not a lasting price for all games or the 2025 holiday lineup.
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- Memory: 10GB GDDR6 128 bit-wide bus; Memory Bandwidth: 8GB @ 224 GB/s, 2GB @ 56 GB/s.; Internal Storage: 512GB Custom NVME SSD
- Gaming Resolution: 1440p; Performance Target: Up to 120 FPS; HDMI Features: Auto Low Latency Mode, HDMI Variable Refresh Rate, AMD FreeSync.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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