Xbox Just Got Up to 43% More Expensive in the UK and Europe — Full Price Breakdown

Microsoft implemented a significant Xbox Series X and Series S price increase across the UK and European Union on August 1, 2026 — in some cases raising prices by as much as 43% compared to previous pricing. Here's the full breakdown of what changed, and why.

The New Pricing

European Union:

• Xbox Series S 512GB: now €499.99 (up from €349.99)
• Xbox Series S 1TB: now €599.99
• Xbox Series X Digital: now €749.99 (up from €549.99)
• Xbox Series X (disc): now €799.99

United Kingdom:

• Xbox Series S 512GB: now £429.99
• Xbox Series S 1TB: now £519.99
• Xbox Series X Digital: now £619.99
• Xbox Series X (disc): now £669.99

Overall, EU pricing rose by €150-200 depending on model, and UK pricing rose by £130-170. On the entry-level Series S specifically, this represents an increase of roughly 43% over its previous price point — one of the steepest console price increases in recent memory.

This Follows an Earlier US Increase

Microsoft had already announced US price increases back in June 2026 — $100 for 512GB models and $150 for 1TB models — but only disclosed the exact US figures at the time, leaving European and UK pricing unknown until it actually went into effect on August 1. The European and UK increases turned out to be proportionally steeper than the US adjustment.

Why Microsoft Says This Is Happening

Microsoft has directly attributed the increase to the ongoing global memory and storage component crisis — specifically citing rising GDDR6 memory costs, the same underlying dynamic pushing up RAM, SSD, and GPU pricing across the entire PC market. In Microsoft's own June announcement, the company also signaled that storage and memory prices could potentially double again, suggesting this may not be the final Xbox price adjustment tied to the crisis.

Context: This Console Has Been Repriced Before

It's worth noting the Xbox Series S has now moved well beyond its original launch pricing over its lifetime — it launched at £249 in the UK, meaning current UK pricing represents an increase of £181 (roughly 73%) over its original 2020 launch price. This marks at least the third time Microsoft has raised pricing on its current-generation consoles since launch.

How This Compares to the Rest of the Console Market

This Xbox increase is part of a broader pattern across the entire console industry in 2026 — Sony and Nintendo have also implemented price increases this year, all tied to the same memory cost pressures. Industry commentary has noted this marks an unusual moment: for the first time, all three major console manufacturers are raising prices around the same period, at a point in a console generation's lifecycle where price cuts would typically be more common than increases.

What This Means If You're Choosing a Console Right Now

• Compare current, actual pricing across all three platforms rather than relying on older reference prices, since Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo have all adjusted pricing this year
• Digital-only models remain the cheaper entry point across the Xbox lineup, if disc functionality isn't a priority for you
• Don't assume this is necessarily the final increase — given Microsoft's own stated expectation of potentially doubling memory costs again, further adjustments aren't out of the question
• This reflects the same underlying memory crisis affecting PC components — if you're weighing a console purchase against a PC build, both are currently affected by the same cost pressures, so neither offers a clean way to sidestep the broader market situation

Final Thoughts

Microsoft's latest Xbox price increase is a direct, confirmed consequence of the same global memory shortage reshaping PC component pricing throughout 2026 — and with the company itself flagging the possibility of further memory cost increases ahead, this may not be the last adjustment. If you're in the market for a console, it's worth comparing current pricing across all three platforms rather than assuming older price points still apply.

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