Sony announced Friday it is raising the prices of its PlayStation 5 consoles, PS5 Pro and PlayStation Portal worldwide, citing continued pressures in the global economic landscape — the company’s second price hike in less than a year.
The new prices take effect Thursday. The standard PS5 will now cost $649.99, up from $549.99, while the PS5 Digital Edition rises to $599.99 from $499.99. The PS5 Pro will climb to $899.99 from $749.99. The PlayStation Portal handheld streaming device will also increase, going from $199.99 to $249.99.
When factoring in that the original PS5 launched at $499.99 in 2020, the console will soon be roughly $250 more expensive less than six years after its debut. The PS5 Pro launched in September 2024 at $699, meaning it will now be $200 more expensive in less than two years.
Isabelle Tomatis, vice president of global marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, announced the increases on the PlayStation Blog, saying the company weighed the decision carefully before concluding it was required to maintain the quality of its gaming products.
A key driver behind the hike is an unprecedented surge in memory prices. Memory is a core component of the PS5, and costs have risen sharply as memory makers redirect their stock to meet massive demand from AI data centers while supply remains tight. U.S. tariffs, AI-driven demand for components and global market uncertainty stemming from the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have also added pressure across the consumer electronics industry.
Since Sony’s last price revision, DRAM contract prices have reportedly increased by over 170% year over year.
Sony is not alone in raising hardware prices. Microsoft raised the price of Xbox Series X/S consoles twice in 2025, along with price hikes to Xbox Game Pass and certain first-party games. Nintendo also raised the price of its original Switch after President Trump imposed new tariffs.
According to Circana Senior Director Mat Piscatella, the shifts are reflecting a broader change in who can afford to participate in console gaming. Households earning under $50,000 a year made up just 19% of gaming hardware buyers in Q4 2025, down from 31% in Q1 2022, while the average price paid for a new unit of video game hardware jumped from $247 in 2019 to $452 by 2025.
The price increases arrive approximately eight months before the expected launch of “Grand Theft Auto 6,” which Rockstar Games has confirmed will not be available on PC on day one, meaning console ownership will be required to play one of the most anticipated releases in gaming history at launch.
The rising cost of RAM may also have longer-term consequences. According to Bloomberg, Sony is now considering pushing back the debut of its next PlayStation console to 2028 or even 2029 — a move that would mark the longest gap between PlayStation generations in the company’s history.
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