Microsoft just slapped another $100 to $150 on every Xbox Series X|S console, effective August 1. The base 512GB models jump by $100, while higher-storage configurations climb by as much as $150, pushing certain Series X setups close to $800.
The company is also killing the 2TB Xbox model entirely. This is the third time Microsoft has hiked Xbox prices since May 2025, and the explanation is always the same: memory and storage components are becoming brutally expensive.
The AI appetite eating your electronics budget
Storage and memory component costs have increased more than 2.5 times since 2024. And the situation is expected to get worse, with costs projected to double again by fall 2027.
The culprit has a name: high-bandwidth memory, or HBM. Manufacturers like Samsung and Micron have been aggressively shifting production capacity toward these AI-grade chips, which fetch premium prices from data center operators. Micron has reportedly exited parts of its consumer business entirely to focus on data center clients.
