The Xbox price increase has finally shown its real size. Microsoft warned back in June that consoles would cost more from 1 August, yet it only ever published American figures. Now the machines have gone on sale, and shoppers in Britain and Europe can see what the company left out.
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It is worse where they live. A Series X with a disc drive now costs £669.99 in the UK, up from £499.99. That is £170 more overnight.
New Xbox prices in the UK and Europe
In Europe the jump reaches €200 on the 1TB machines and €150 on the smaller Series S. British buyers face £170 and £130 respectively.
Line by line, the UK now reads like this. Series S 512GB moves from £299.99 to £429.99. Series S 1TB goes from £349.99 to £519.99. The digital Series X climbs from £449.99 to £619.99, and the disc model lands at £669.99. We checked that digital figure against Microsoft’s own British store, and it matches.
Europe follows the same shape. The Series S 512GB now asks €499.99, while the disc Series X reaches €799.99.
Put beside America, the gap is obvious. US buyers absorbed $100 and $150 depending on the model. Everyone else absorbed noticeably more, and nobody at Microsoft explained why in June.
Why this Xbox price increase is probably not the last
Here is the part almost nobody has connected, and it matters more than the numbers.
Microsoft named its culprit plainly. In its June statement the company said it had spent months working with suppliers, then admitted that “console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027”.
Now look at what the people who actually make that memory said days ago. On its second-quarter earnings call, Samsung told investors the shortage will persist into next year and then intensify during 2027, with tight supply lasting until at least 2028. TechCrunch reported the forecast on 31 July.
So the buyer and the supplier have independently landed on the same year. Microsoft expects its costs to double again by late 2027, and Samsung expects the squeeze causing those costs to deepen through exactly that period. Neither company is talking about relief.
That reframes today’s news. This is not a correction that settles the price of a console. Instead this may not be the last Xbox price increase, because both companies point to continued pressure on component costs through 2027.
Nobody is escaping it
Microsoft is not alone, which is the strangest part of this console generation. Sony raised PS5 prices in April, pushing the Digital Edition up $100 and the PS5 Pro up $150. Every major manufacturer has now moved the same direction.
Consoles normally get cheaper as they age. Instead this Xbox price increase leaves a disc Series X costing roughly $300 more than it did at launch in 2020, and Microsoft has now raised prices three times since last year.
For players the practical advice is dull but real. If you were waiting for a seasonal discount to justify the purchase, the maths behind those discounts has changed, and waiting may not deliver the reductions buyers have traditionally expected. We covered the company’s wider reset in Xbox Four Priorities Revealed as Console Prices Rise, and looked at its PC plans in Why the Xbox Leaving Steam Rumor Doesn’t Match Microsoft’s Current Strategy.
Frequently asked questions
When did these prices take effect? The rise applied worldwide from 1 August, though Microsoft only published American figures in June. The British and European numbers appeared once the consoles went on sale.
Why is the rise bigger outside America? Microsoft has not said. Its public explanation covers component costs rather than regional differences.
Will prices rise again? Nothing is announced. However, Microsoft expects memory costs to double again by autumn 2027, and Samsung expects supply to stay tight until at least 2028.
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