Xbox According to gaming industry insiders, console prices may rise soon. While Xbox prices have already doubled in 2025 due to tariffs, another potential increase can be attributed to the ongoing shortages and price hikes in DRAM memory kits that have affected the entire tech industry.
By late 2025, prices for DRAM memory chips have skyrocketed across the board, leaving consumers to buy the RAM they want. This price increase and subsequent decrease is due to continued demand for DRAM by OpenAI and other AI-based companies, which has led RAM manufacturers to allocate more of their supply to power AI servers and infrastructure. As a result, consumer prices on DDR5 desktop memory kits rose more than 200% throughout the fall. Despite some ongoing Black Friday deals on PC components in general, there's no potential relief for consumers when it comes to DDR4 or DDR5 RAM kits.
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A critically-acclaimed PlayStation 5 console exclusive has cast a shadow over the Xbox Series X/S after a recent release date leak.
Xbox console prices may increase due to lack of running RAM
Although rumors should be taken with a good grain of salt, one gaming industry insider is feeling the pinch of the RAM price hikes that the Xbox is already going through. A November 20 YouTube video from Moore's Law Is Dead states that Microsoft “didn't plan ahead” when it came to RAM shortages, and that Xbox console prices may soon increase. Moore's Law Is Dead did not say when or how much Xbox Series X/S prices will change. In 2025, the Xbox Series X/S console lineup doubled due to tariffs on various goods imposed by the US government. Currently, the Xbox Series S console can be purchased for as low as $379.99, while the Xbox Series X will set customers back $599.99. The increase in the price of Xbox consoles and Xbox Game Pass has drawn criticism in the gaming industry.
However, Moore's Law Is Dead added that the Xbox's main competitor, the PS5, may not yet face the impending price hike, as Sony has enough DRAM to meet consumer demands during the holiday shopping season. PS5 consoles are being discounted by up to $100 for the standard PS5 system for Black Friday, it remains to be seen when Sony will raise its prices.
However Xbox is offering Black Friday deals on the same games Fallout 76 and The outside world 2Unfortunately the Xbox Series X/S consoles have no such offerings. Only time will tell what Microsoft's plans are for the rest of its Xbox console stock.
- brand
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Microsoft
- Original release date
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November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499
- operating system
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Proprietary (Windows based)
- processor
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Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8 GHz
- resolve
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720p – 4K UHD
