Microsoft is raising the price of its Xbox Series consoles, and according to Tom's Hardware, it marks the third time the company has done so in just two years.
The increases range from $100 to $150 and apply to every model in the lineup, Tom's Hardware reports. The one exception is the 2TB version, which is not getting a price bump because Microsoft is discontinuing it entirely.
The reason behind the hikes, according to TechCrunch, is rising component costs. TechCrunch also frames the move as Xbox "following Apple," noting that Microsoft is not alone among major tech hardware makers in passing higher costs along to customers.
For shoppers, the practical takeaway is straightforward: the same Xbox hardware now costs noticeably more than it did, and one storage option is going away. Console prices have traditionally held steady or even dropped over a generation's lifespan as manufacturing matures, so a series of increases like this runs against the usual pattern.
Why it matters: when the price of mainstream gaming hardware keeps rising rather than falling, it signals that the cost pressures squeezing the broader tech industry are now reaching everyday consumer products — and gamers are the ones absorbing the difference.