Every Xbox Series console costs more starting August 1
Microsoft is raising prices across the entire Xbox Series lineup for the third time in 15 months, and retiring the 2 TB model entirely. Here is exactly what changes, dollar for dollar.
Microsoft confirmed on June 25, 2026 that Xbox Series X and Series S prices will rise worldwide effective August 1, 2026, with 512 GB models going up by $100 and 1 TB models by $150. The 2 TB Xbox Series X is being discontinued at the same time. Microsoft has raised console prices twice before in the past year, first in May 2025 and again in October 2025, making this the third hike since spring 2025.
The company points to a single cause: the price of the memory and storage chips that go inside every console. Players still shopping for current hardware, including those tracking the system requirements for Grand Theft Auto VI’s November pre-order window, have until July 31 to buy at today’s prices.
What your console costs on August 1
Tap or click any price tag to flip it and see the new August 1 price next to what it replaces.
The chips inside every console got expensive fast
Microsoft’s own explanation is short: storage and memory parts cost more than 2.5 times what they did before the company’s last price change, and Microsoft expects that cost to double again by fall 2027. Consoles sit in an unusual spot in consumer electronics. Unlike a phone, laptop, or speaker, an Xbox is typically sold at or below the cost of building it, with Microsoft making its money back later through games and subscriptions. When the parts inside get this much more expensive, that math stops working without a price change.
Microsoft is not alone here. Hours before the Xbox announcement, Apple confirmed price increases on several MacBook and iPad models. Apple CEO Tim Cook said days earlier that price increases had become unavoidable given the cost of memory chips. The driver behind both companies’ decisions is the same: memory makers including Micron and SK Hynix are funneling more of their production toward high-bandwidth memory for AI data center hardware, leaving a tighter supply, and therefore a higher price, for the chips that go inside everyday consumer devices like Xbox consoles, laptops, and tablets.
How three price hikes happened in fifteen months
Photo Source: The Game Tribune (Proprietary, All Rights Reserved)
See what buying before or after August 1 actually costs
Pick a console below to compare today’s price against the price that takes effect August 1.
Four ways Microsoft is trying to keep Xbox affordable
Alongside the price increase, Microsoft is rolling out four programs aimed at lowering the upfront cost of buying a console. Players who’d rather put money toward games and gear, including collectibles like the recently detailed Fallout T-60 Power Armor model kit, may find these programs worth a look before August 1.
A third hike, one fewer model on the shelf
Microsoft’s announcement covered the new pricing for all Xbox Series X and Series S models, the discontinuation of the 2 TB option, and four programs intended to ease the cost of buying a console after August 1. The company tied the change to rising memory and storage component costs and referenced its two previous price increases from May and October 2025. For full pricing details and the four accessibility programs as Microsoft described them, the original Xbox Wire announcement remains the primary source. Readers following the Xbox Series S game lineup mentioned in that announcement can also see The Game Tribune’s coverage of current Xbox Series X|S console betas, reporting on the Red Dead Redemption 3 protagonist debate, and recent reporting on Nintendo’s approach to dungeon design for more on what is shipping across consoles this year.