Phil Spencer: Xbox product price increases seem inevitable

A price increase for various products or services related to Xbox is inevitable, says Microsoft CEO Phil Spencer. In any case, that price increase will not come in the coming months, Spencer said in an interview.

Spencer said during conference WSJ Live from The Wall Street Journal that the company felt it was important to maintain current prices into the upcoming holiday season. “We’ve kept the price the same for our consoles, for our games and for our subscription. But we can’t do that forever.”

It is unknown exactly which products or services Microsoft would like to increase the prices of and by how much. The Xbox Series S received a suggested retail price of 299 euros and is available for around that price, the Series X cost 499 euros at release and has cost more than that since release.

With a price increase, Microsoft would follow competitor Sony. The Japanese company announced in August that it would raise the suggested retail prices of its PlayStation 5 console. Sony cited the increased costs due to inflation as a reason to raise the suggested retail prices of its consoles. The PlayStation 5 has not been available for that suggested retail price since its release two years ago.