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Bad news if you live in Sweden and plan to buy an Xbox Series X|S console, as Microsoft just raised the price in the country.
This latest price increase raises the Xbox Series X from SEK 5,695 (Swedish Krona) to SEK 6,195. Regional equivalents are around $600 / £500 / AU$875. Curiously, Xbox Series S has also jumped to SEK 3,895 ($380 / £315 / AU$550) on the Swedish Microsoft Store, but remains at its previous price of SEK 3,300 at other major retailers (thanks, Gaming Deputy (opens in new tab)).
Currently, there is no official word from Microsoft about the price increase in Sweden. Nor has the company warned of an increase for the rest of Europe and the UK. The radio silence is in stark contrast to last month’s price hike for the console in Japan, which Microsoft stressed in an official statement was “a tough decision to make.”
Are price increases for the Xbox Series X inevitable?
Microsoft has so far been tight-lipped about the Xbox Series X|S price hike in Sweden, which is admittedly somewhat unnerving. We know we can expect price increases for Microsoft’s current generation of consoles, as Xbox head Phil Spencer has repeatedly updated us in light of console demand and declining subscription numbers for services like Xbox Game Pass.
The only silver lining here is that Xbox’s price increases are more spread out than Sony’s with the PS5 so far. In August 2022, Sony raised the price of the popular console simultaneously in the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia. Japan followed a month later. Meanwhile, the US has so far been unaffected by price hikes from any of the big three console manufacturers.
It’s both sad and unprecedented for a console just over two years old to go up in price. Especially since both Xbox Series X and PS5 are already expensive pieces of technology. Amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, these machines are already out of reach for large groups of gamers. And with supply chains having more breathing room this year, these price increases don’t really make sense if the reason is to curb demand.
It seems inevitable that the rest of the world will eventually see these console price increases, though I hope it doesn’t become a trend with consoles of current and future generations.
Back in the day, consoles and their mid-gen revisions would come down in price to let in more entry-level consumers. But it seems those days are largely gone, with few systems outside of the portable Nintendo Switch Lite keeping the torch burning.
