Xbox Series X hits £669.99 in UK after massive August price hike

Microsoft's Xbox consoles became significantly more expensive in the UK on 1 August 2026, with the top-of-the-range Xbox Series X disc model now carrying a recommended retail price of £669.99 — up £170 from its previous £499.99. The increases, which affect the entire Xbox Series X|S family, are the largest single price hike the range has seen and form part of a worldwide adjustment that Microsoft first announced on 25 June 2026.

The new UK prices at a glance

Every current Xbox console model saw a substantial increase when the new pricing went live at the start of the month. According to Pure Xbox and Video Games Chronicle, the full picture for UK buyers is as follows:

• Xbox Series S (512GB): £299.99 → £429.99 (+£130)
• Xbox Series S (1TB): £349.99 → £519.99 (+£170)
• Xbox Series X (1TB, Digital Edition): £449.99 → £619.99 (+£170)
• Xbox Series X (1TB, Disc): £499.99 → £669.99 (+£170)

The 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition has been discontinued as part of the same move. In Europe, the increases amount to €200 on 1TB models and €150 on 512GB models — rises that, according to Video Games Chronicle, represent upwards of 40% in some markets.

Why Microsoft kept UK buyers in the dark until August

When Microsoft published its announcement on Xbox Wire on 25 June, it confirmed that prices would rise on 1 August but only shared the US figures at that point — an increase of $100 for 512GB models and $150 for 1TB models. The specific UK and European prices were not disclosed until after the increase had already gone live, leaving British consumers with less than no notice of the precise sums involved.

What is driving the increases

Unlike the two previous Xbox price hikes — the first of which arrived alongside Microsoft's Q3 earnings call in May 2025, and the second of which was a $20 to $70 bump in October 2025 that was widely linked to tariff pressures — this latest round is being attributed squarely to the cost of memory components. In its Xbox Wire post, Microsoft was blunt about the scale of the problem:

"Last October, we increased Xbox console price by $20–$70 in the U.S. We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options. Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles."

The root cause is a global DRAM shortage that began in late 2025, driven by surging demand from AI data centres. The three companies that produce the vast majority of the world's DRAM — Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron — have been prioritising High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for AI applications, as it generates roughly 10 to 20 times the revenue per module compared to standard consumer memory. That reallocation has pushed DRAM and NAND flash prices to generational highs, making it progressively more expensive to manufacture a fixed-spec console as time goes on, rather than less — reversing the economics that have governed the games industry for decades.

The Series S affordability argument is gone

The Xbox Series S launched in November 2020 at £249, positioned as the accessible, digital-only route into current-generation gaming. Today, the entry-level 512GB model costs £429.99 — more than the ROG Xbox Ally handheld, which has been reported at £379.99. For context, the original Xbox Series X launched at £449 in the same month; the Series S now costs only £20 less than that launch price. Across the full range, cumulative increases since launch stand at £220 for the Series X and £180 for the Series S.

How Xbox compares with its rivals

The £669.99 disc-based Series X remains cheaper than Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro, which now retails at £789.99, though the PS5 Pro is more powerful and includes 2TB of storage. The standard disc-based PS5 is priced at £569.99 following Sony's own round of price increases in April. Xbox is not alone in facing this pressure: according to reporting by God is a Geek and KitGuru, Nintendo is also expected to implement Switch 2 price increases from 1 September 2026, with European pricing set to rise to €499.99 — though exact UK figures had not been confirmed by Nintendo at the time of publication.

Xbox's wider troubles

The price hike arrives at a difficult moment for the division. Microsoft's fiscal year 2026 results, covering the year ended 30 June 2026, showed Xbox hardware revenue down 29% for the full year. Xbox content and services revenue fell 10% in the fourth quarter — the third consecutive quarterly decline in that category. On 6 July 2026, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who succeeded Phil Spencer in February 2026, announced the elimination of approximately 3,200 positions through fiscal 2027, with 1,600 roles cut that same day.

For UK buyers weighing up their options this summer, the calculation has fundamentally changed. There is no longer a budget Xbox. There is no longer a generation where patience is rewarded with lower prices. And with all three major console makers moving in the same direction at once, there is nowhere else on the market to turn for relief.