Xbox console prices are about to rise for the second time in a year, just before GTA VI launches

Microsoft has just announced that the price of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles will increase "effective August 1, 2026" in a post on Xbox News Wire. Specifically, the company says that "The price of Xbox consoles will increase by US$100 for 512 GB models and US$150 for 1 TB models. We will also be sunsetting our 2 TB model."

We don't have confirmation on what this will mean in countries outside the US, but we know there will be changes worldwide; the question is how much.

This will make the prices of Xbox consoles in the US as follows:

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New Xbox console pricingRow 0 - Cell 0 Old price

New price

Xbox Series S 512GB

$399

$499

Xbox Series S 1TB

$449

$599

Xbox Series X 1TB All-Digital

$599

$749

Xbox Series X 1TB Disc

$649

$899

So the Xbox Series S now costs the same as the Series X used to, and is the same price as the PS5 Digital Edition currently costs (though we'll see if that changes again too…).

Fortunately, you have a chance to beat the price rise at the moment — if you're in the US, Walmart has a great discount on the 1TB disc version currently.

We're getting into a real crunch point when it comes to price rises caused by the AI-driven memory crisis.

Apple has just announced a huge suite of price rises, having resisted as long as possible, and the price of the Steam Machine shocked people who were hoping for something more console-level — but Valve says the memory companies had them over a barrel, basically.

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It's hard to say if the price rise coming just before the GTA IV launch is a cynical move by Xbox, or if letting us know six weeks in advance, during a sales event, just after GTA VI pre-orders went live is doing us a favor — I'm inclined to lean towards the latter.

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Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he's also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He's always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he's explaining the offside rule.