{"id":25022,"date":"2026-08-02T09:41:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25022"},"modified":"2026-08-02T09:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T04:41:24","slug":"xbox-series-x-is-now-670-in-uk-as-microsoft-sneak-price-hike-out-at-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=25022","title":{"rendered":"Xbox Series X is now \u00a3670 in UK as Microsoft sneak price hike out at weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296130494-29e0.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28272533\" alt=\"Xbox Series X and S consoles floating together in front of a black and white background\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Who would buy an Xbox console at these prices? (Microsoft)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/microsoft\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Microsoft<\/a> has quietly revealed the new price hikes for the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/xbox\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Xbox<\/a> Series X and Xbox Series S in the UK, with massive increases of up to \u00a3170.<\/p>\n<p>If an American company wants to bury bad news in Europe, then the easiest way to do it is by announcing something after 5pm on a Friday. By that point it\u2019s 6pm on the Continent and most UK outlets have also gone home for the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft has gone one step further with the pricing of Xbox consoles and while it\u2019s not entirely clearly when the information was revealed (there was so certainly no formal annoucement) it seems to have happened late on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>As you can imagine from that, it\u2019s not good news, with all models of console increasing by over \u00a3150 and the disc-less <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/xbox-series-x\/\">Xbox Series X<\/a> jumping by \u00a3170, from \u00a3499.99 to \u00a3669.99 \u2013 at a time when Xbox console sales are already perilously low.<\/p>\n<p>Xbox announced price rises for the Xbox <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/06\/26\/xbox-consoles-suffer-33-price-hike-increases-come-28933678\/\">back in June<\/a> but, just like <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/nintendo\/\">Nintendo<\/a> and its upcoming <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/05\/08\/switch-2-price-increase-confirmed-uk-nintendo-wont-say-28284953\/\">price hike for the Switch 2<\/a>, Microsoft didn\u2019t bother to say exactly what the increase would be in the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Now that they have, it\u2019s obvious why they were trying to be secretive about it, as the changes are absolutely eye-watering. The reason given back in June was the \u2018current component costs crisis\u2019, which is entirely fair and the same reason the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/playstation-5\/\">PlayStation 5<\/a> suffered a <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/03\/27\/ps5-console-prices-rise-80-this-month-europe-claim-sources-27701888\/\">\u00a390 price hike in March<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Sign up to the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/newsletters\/game-central\/\"><strong>GameCentral newsletter<\/strong><\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Well, it\u2019s entirely fair in that the component crisis isn\u2019t Xbox\u2019s fault (or at least not directly \u2013 the crisis is because AI data centres are using up all the RAM and hard drives, which Microsoft as a whole has certainly been encouraging). Clearly, though, this makes the Xbox an incredibly unpalatable prospect, especially given the company\u2019s poor reputation at the moment, following endless layoffs and its confused approach to multiformat releases.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tNew Xbox console prices in UK after price rise\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Xbox Series S 512GB: \u00a3429.99 (was \u00a3299.99)<br \/>Xbox Series S 1TB: \u00a3519.99 (was \u00a3349.99)<br \/>Xbox Series X Digital 1TB: \u00a3619.99 (was \u00a3449.99)<br \/>Xbox Series X Disc 1TB: \u00a3669.99 (was \u00a3499.99)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>What makes the situation even worse is that there\u2019s a good chance prices could go up yet further, since Microsoft is apparently <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/29\/xbox-still-not-making-a-profit-console-sales-despite-price-rise-says-report-29249916\/\">still selling the consoles at a loss<\/a>, even with this latest increase.<\/p>\n<p>The prices you see here are in effect already, indeed the only reason anyone knows about them is because the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xbox.com\/en-GB\/consoles\/xbox-series-x\">Microsoft website<\/a> suddenly updated to reflect them. So there\u2019s not even a grace period to buy them at the previous prices, beyond the vague warning in June.<\/p>\n<p>This is probably how the Nintendo Switch 2 price rise is going to work too, when it comes into effect on September 1 \u2013 so be warned if you\u2019re planning to get one as a <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/christmas\/\">Christmas<\/a> present.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"XBOX Fanfest: 25 Years of Memories\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x-B0FTPNBEY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>This isn\u2019t even the first price rise for the Xbox, which, like the PlayStation 5, is now considerably more expensive than it was at launch \u2013 an unheard of state of affairs for the games industry, where hardware prices are expected to decrease over time, especially with consoles this old.<\/p>\n<p>At launch, almost six years ago now, the Xbox Series X was \u00a3449.99 and the Xbox Series S was just \u00a3249.99. The latter was intended to be a low cost, slightly less powerful model that would undercut both <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/sony\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">Sony<\/a> and Nintendo.<\/p>\n<p>Like most Xbox ideas, it made sense in theory but hasn\u2019t worked out as intended. The model proved far less popular than expected and was accused by some of <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/08\/01\/baldurs-gate-3-delayed-on-xbox-until-2024-suggests-developer-19226535\/\">holding back Xbox Series X game development<\/a>. Now that it\u2019s so expensive it\u2019s only a surprise that Microsoft hasn\u2019t just discontinued it.<\/p>\n<p>The wider ramifications of all this, especially given all companies have been increasing their prices, is that the price of <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/playstation-6\/\">PlayStation 6<\/a> and the next gen Xbox are clearly going to be outrageously expensive, and very likely not a mass market proposition. So where that puts the future of console gaming is a very genuine concern.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"363\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SEI_301985692-54d3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-28835836\" alt=\"Xbox logo with money dripping out of it\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Can Xbox survive this much bad news? (Myles Goode\/Metro)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em>Email\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/02\/xbox-series-x-now-670-uk-microsoft-sneak-price-hike-weekend-29277321\/mailto:gamecentral@metro.co.uk\">gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a>, leave a comment below,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GameCentral\">follow us on Twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To submit Inbox letters and Reader\u2019s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our\u00a0<a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For more stories like this,\u00a0<a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/entertainment\/gaming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">check our Gaming page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/01\/ps5-going-last-console-sony-know-readers-feature-29270115\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">The PS5 is going to be the last console and Sony know it \u2013 Reader\u2019s Feature<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/31\/xbox-double-strongest-franchises-boss-sets-crazy-new-goals-29270492\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Xbox to double down on its \u2018strongest franchises\u2019 as boss sets crazy new goals<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/31\/zelda-remake-release-date-leak-looks-real-nintendo-deletes-product-listing-29269555\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Zelda remake release date leak looks real as Nintendo deletes product listing<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--gaming\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>GameCentral<\/h4>\n<p>Sign up for exclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who would buy an Xbox console at these prices? (Microsoft) Microsoft has quietly revealed the new price hikes for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in the UK, with massive increases of up to \u00a3170. If an American company wants to bury bad news in Europe, then the easiest way to do it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_296130494-29e0_1785619746.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}