Microsoft (MSFT) is raising the price of its Xbox consoles, games, and accessories worldwide amid ongoing tariff uncertainty surrounding consumer technology goods. The price jump, which starts May 1, means customers will now have to pay as much as $79.99 for some new first-party Xbox games, up from $69.99.
Microsoft isn’t the first company to announce price increases on games. Nintendo (NTDOY) announced that its “Mario Kart World” for the Switch 2 console will start at $79.99, as well. The company also increased the prices of its Joy-Con 2 controllers from $90 to $95, while the Switch 2 Pro Controller rose from $80 to $85.
While Microsoft didn’t specifically call out tariffs when laying out its price increases, the company noted that it made the decisions with “careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development.”
Nintendo also blamed the current economic situation when it released its new pricing scheme on April 18, adding, “Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product are also possible in the future depending on market conditions.”
Video game companies manufacture consoles and accessories in China, which is currently subject to 145% reciprocal tariffs, and areas like Vietnam, subject to a 10% blanket tariff. Physical games, discs, and cartridges are also produced in China.
In addition to increasing game prices, Microsoft is raising prices on some of its consoles. The Xbox Series X will jump $100 to $599, while the Xbox Series S with 512GB of storage will now cost $379, up from $299. The Series S with 1TB of storage will also increase from $449 to $429. Microsoft launched the Series S and Series X in late 2020.
Nintendo will keep the price of the Switch 2 the same at $449. The Switch 2 is also a new console, unlike the 2020 Xboxes. It’s unusual for a company to raise prices so far into a console’s life cycle, which can usually last roughly seven to eight years. Console makers generally begin to lower device prices toward the end of their life cycles and ahead of the debut of their next-generation systems.
Microsoft and Sony (SONY), though, launched their latest consoles in late 2020 and had to contend with COVID-related supply chain problems, limiting the number of customers that could get their hands on the hardware for the first few months.
In announcing its price increases, Microsoft was sure to point out that games purchased on the Xbox Store can be played on both the Xbox and PCs. The company also sells its Xbox Game Pass service, which gives users access to a massive library of titles for a flat fee of between $9.99 and $19.99 per month.
