As a result of the “continuing hardware shortage”, the prices of the Xbox mainframe under the Microsoft flag will increase significantly. In a blog post, Microsoft stated that, as of 1 August, the price of the 512GB model had increased by $100 and the 1TB model by $150. The 2TB model will be discontinued.
In June 2026, the Xbox mainframe price increase was detailed:
Xbox Series S 512GB: $399.99
Xbox Series S 1TB: $449.99
Xbox Series X 1TB digital version: $599.99 – $749.99
Xbox Series X 1TB: $649.99
Microsoft says: “In the United States last October, we raised the price of the Xbox mainframe by between $20 and $70. We had hoped that there would be no further price increases and had been exploring solutions with suppliers over the past few months. Unfortunately, the price of mainframe storage and memory has increased more than 2.5 times, and we expect to double again by the fall of 2027.”
“The entire consumer electronics industry has been affected by the current spare parts crisis, particularly for mainframes. Unlike mobile phones, computers, soundboxes and other consumer goods, mainframes are usually not sold for profit and are often sold at lower prices than the cost of manufacturing.”
Along with the price increase announcement, Microsoft also referred to the “buy-on-pay” option and interest-free instalment schemes. Microsoft also indicated that it was working with retailers to provide second-hand hosts at lower prices.
“A player ready to upgrade or no longer use a mainframe may obtain a credit in cash or in a store in exchange for old or new by participating in a cooperative retailer. These hosts will then be made available to other players at lower prices.” In addition, Microsoft stores provide “officially certified mainframe refurbishment”, with a maximum discount of $100.
It is worth mentioning that the annual edition of the ” Manhunter 6 ” has now been pre-purchased at the mainframe and the game will be officially launched on 19 November, when the demand for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be significantly increased. However, there are concerns that neither Sony nor Microsoft will be able to meet the demands of GTA 6. At AI heat, hardware manufacturers focused their resources in this area, resulting in a continuing shortage of consumer-grade equipment.
Earlier this month, the new CEO of Xbox, Asha Sharma, stated that a new and old mainframe cost spiral would require “a different business model for the next generation of hosts”. She added that the industry was “unimaginably” able to afford a new generation of “thousands of dollars” hosts.
The current generation of PS5 and Xbox Series X|S have all raised the sale price. Sony itself raised the price of the PS5 mainframe in March, citing “continuing pressures on the global economic environment”. Nintendo was no exception, and more than a year after the listing of Switch 2, an increase in the price of the mainframe was recently announced. Valve also complained about the difficulty of issuing Steam Machine at the initially desired price, which eventually had to set a hell of a $1049.
In contrast, PS5 currently sells at $649.99, PS5 digital version $599.99 and PS5 Pro $899.99.
Xbox is currently going through what Sharma calls a “reorganization” process, which is expected to lead to large-scale lay-offs. The future of Ninja Theory, the developer of The Blade of Hell, Compulsion Games, the developer of the South of Midnight, and Double Fine, the developer of the Brain Operator, is worrying, and there are rumours that the entire Xbox studio is not optimistic about the way forward.
A memorandum from the earthquake industry in Sharma revealed that the current liability profit margin (assuming a profit margin) for Microsoft games was only 3 per cent, a decline over the same period. She said: “Without the blizzard King, our continued investment in content, platform and hardware subsidies has exceeded $20 billion over the past five years, but our annual income has fallen by nearly $500 million during that period. Looking to the future, this cannot continue.”
Following the release of the memorandum, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadra, stated that “the Xbox game on YouTube is better profitable than Xbox” and added that the Xbox team needed to find out “how to innovate in hardware and games in an economically viable manner”.
Nadra added: “No one can blame Microsoft for not having had a `breed’ in the last 25 years. We must now turn it into a sustainable business that continues to provide one of the best entertainment elements.”
