Xbox Series X price hiked by £170 due to rising memory chip costs

Microsoft has increased the price of Xbox consoles worldwide due to rising costs of memory and storage chips. The premium Series X console with a disc drive will now cost £670, up from £500. The baseline Xbox Series S console will now cost £430, a 43% increase from its previous £300 price. This move follows Sony's recent hike of PlayStation 5 prices by £90 in March.

Microsoft had hoped another price increase would not be necessary but attributes it to the rising cost of console storage and memory. In the US, basic consoles rose by $100 to $499, and consoles with more memory increased by $150 to $749. Similar increases were revealed in the EU, with a Series S console with more storage costing roughly €200 more.

The rise in price has been criticized by users, with some calling it absolutely disgusting and highway robbery. Tech firms are facing criticism for passing these costs onto consumers, especially when it means charging more for products released years ago. This move may lead more people to stream games instead of using consoles, according to Amazon's gaming boss.

Xbox has also faced its own struggles recently, with Microsoft revealing a dip in revenues across its gaming division. The company initiated a major restructuring with around 3,200 job cuts across its workforce in July.