Microsoft is reportedly considering another price hike for Xbox consoles.
Although Microsoft has already increased the price of its hardware twice this year – once in May, and then again for US players in September – reports claim the global RAM shortages could see the hardware go up in price again.
According to Moore’s Law is Dead (via TGP), Microsoft has warned its partners that ongoing RAM shortages and soaring costs could lead to higher prices for its customers, with AI data centres snapping up memory in huge numbers and leaving little left for consumer electronics.
“[Microsoft] didn’t plan ahead at all, apparently,” Moore’s Law is Dead said. “If you still want an Xbox for some reason at their current pricing, those prices could go up soon, or supply could just entirely dry up because multiple sources of mine have apparently been warned by sales reps at Microsoft that this is going to affect the Xbox Series consoles very, very soon. Sooner rather than later.”
Interestingly, Moore’s Law Is Dead doesn’t believe this is necessarily an industry-wide issue.
“From what I’ve heard, Sony planned ahead, bought up gobs of RAM near the bottom of the pricing, and thus they should be fine for months,” Moore’s Law added.
“They have plenty of GDDR6, at least that’s what I’m told. Prices could go up eventually; I could see that happening next year… but there is a reason Sony is cutting PlayStation 5 pricing for Black Friday.
“They aren’t just doing this as some extreme move or because sales are bad. They can afford to do it; apparently, they are not worried about the RAM shortage, at least in the short- to mid-term.”
This, of course, is further compounded by the recent increase in the price of Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscriptions and tiers shake-up. Game Pass Ultimate will now cost $29.99 / £22.99 per month. It includes access to over 75 day-one releases a year, as well as Fortnite Crew and Ubisoft+ Classics. Cloud gaming is also set to receive a boost in quality, and there’s a new Rewards programme, too.
