Xbox Console prices could soon rise, according to gaming industry insiders. While Xbox prices have already doubled in 2025 due to tariffs, another potential increase can be attributed to the continued shortage and spike in DRAM prices that has affected the entire tech industry.
During the second half of 2025, DRAM memory chip prices have skyrocketed, leaving consumers out of the price to buy the RAM they want. This price increase and subsequent shortage is due to continued demand for DRAM from OpenAI and other AI-based companies, which has led RAM manufacturers to allocate more of their supply to power servers and AI infrastructure. As a result, consumer prices for desktop DDR5 memory kits jumped over 200% during the fall. Despite some ongoing Black Friday deals on PC components, there is generally no potential relief in sight for consumers when it comes to DDR4 or DDR5 RAM kits.
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Xbox console prices could rise due to persistent RAM shortage
Although the rumors should be taken with a grain of salt, a gaming industry insider says that Xbox is already feeling the pinch from the continued increase in RAM prices. Moore's Law Is Dead said in a November 20 YouTube video that Microsoft “didn't plan ahead at all” when it came to RAM shortages, and that Xbox console prices could soon shoot up again. Moore's Law Is Dead did not say when or by how much the Xbox Series X/S prices will change. During 2025, the Xbox Series X/S line of consoles doubled due to tariffs on various goods imposed by the US government. Currently, the Xbox Series S console can be purchased for as little as $379.99, while the Xbox Series X will set customers back $599.99. The price hikes for Xbox consoles and Xbox Game Pass have sparked criticism across the gaming industry.
However, Moore's Law Is Dead added that Xbox's main competitor, the PS5, may not yet face an immediate price hike as Sony appears to have enough DRAM to meet consumer demand during the holiday shopping season. With PS5 consoles being discounted by up to $100 off the standard PS5 system on Black Friday, it remains to be seen if or when Sony will raise prices.
Although Xbox offers Black Friday deals on games like Fallout 76 and Outer worlds 2Unfortunately, there are no such offers on Xbox Series X/S consoles. Only time will tell what plans Microsoft has for the remaining inventory of Xbox consoles.
- Mark
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Microsoft
- Original release date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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499 dollars
- Operating system
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Proprietary (Windows based)
- Processor
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Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 3.8 GHz
- Resolution
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720p – 4K UHD
