PlayStation consoles will increase in price due to a „challenging economic environment”

The most expensive video game console is about to get more expensive in the U.S. The announcement was made in a brief PlayStation Blog post by Isabelle Tomatis, Vice President of Global Marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment. All three current versions of PlayStation consoles will increase by about $50. The new prices will take effect on August 21st, 2025.

PlayStation hardware is increasing in price in the U.S., by about $50

From the PlayStation Blog, Tomatis writes: “Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21st.” The standard PlayStation 5 will increase to $549.99, the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition will increase to $499.99, and the PlayStation 5 Pro will come in at an eye-watering $749.99. Increasing in price despite already being the most expensive console.

While the blog post does not explicitly call out tariffs, it’s not too difficult to read between the lines, as Game Awards host Geoff Keighley points out in a social media post. Sony is the last of the three major console manufacturers to make changes to hardware prices. Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders were delayed in the U.S. and Canada, but only accessories increased in price. Then, more recently, the original Nintendo Switch family of consoles increased in price. Microsoft also increased the price of its hardware back in May.

Thankfully, from the PlayStation blog post, “the recommended retail prices for PlayStation 5 accessories remain unchanged…” at least for now. But that shred of mercy didn’t stop users from replying to the news on social media. One user wrote: “This is the worst generation of gaming.” While another pointed out that “this price increase doesn’t bode well for the next generation of consoles.” If the PlayStation 5 Pro is $750, how much will a PlayStation 6 Pro cost? Will the base PlayStation 6 cost over $600? Thankfully, we are likely still a few years away from the next generation, so hopefully that’s enough time for the “challenging economic environment” to improve.

• PlayStation (brand)
• hardware
• console prices
• gaming
• Sony Interactive Entertainment
• PS5 / PlayStation 5
• PS5 Pro / PlayStation 5 Pro