Sony has announced that the price of PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal consoles will be increasing globally, citing the "global economic landscape" as the reason for the higher prices.
"With continued pressures in the global economic landscape, we've made the decision to increase the prices of PS5, PS5 Pro, and PlayStation Portal remote player globally," VP of global marketing Isabelle Tomatis said in a blog post. "We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide."
New prices effective April 2, 2026:
PS5 — $649.99 (was $550)
PS5 Digital Edition — $599.99 (was $500)
PS5 Pro — $899.99 (was $750)
PlayStation Portal — $250 (was $200)
Why Is This Happening?
Sony had previously increased PS5 prices by $50 in August 2025, but multiple converging factors are pushing costs even higher this time around. US President Donald Trump's tariffs, an AI-driven demand for components that has led to a global memory shortage, and economic turbulence stemming from the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran are all contributing to the increases.
The new hike is substantially larger than previous ones — the PS5 jumped $100 for the standard model, $100 for the Digital Edition, and $150 for the PS5 Pro.
Gaming Is Becoming a Luxury
Compared to previous console generations, where hardware prices typically dropped over time, the trend has reversed sharply. Prices for the PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S all increased in 2025. More telling is who is actually buying the hardware.
According to Circana data, poorer households earning under $50,000 a year made up only 19% of gaming hardware buyers in Q4 2025. Circana senior director and video game industry advisor Mat Piscatella painted a stark picture of the shift.
"According to Circana's Checkout Receipt Panel service, 53% of video game hardware purchasing households during Q4 2025 had incomes of over $100k," Piscatella said. "This percentage was only 40% during Q1 2022. So, the average household buying a new unit of video game hardware has been becoming more affluent, on average, over time."
The numbers back that up. The average price paid for a new unit of video game hardware in the US was $247 in 2019. By 2025, that figure had jumped to $452.
"These macroeconomic conditions are a massive challenge for not just video games, but all categories of discretionary spending like fashion or toys or tech," Piscatella added. "And if conditions continue to deteriorate, the challenges will only compound."
The concern is real — as hardware prices climb and the buyer base shrinks to higher-income households, the mainstream accessibility that helped gaming grow into a multi-billion dollar industry may be quietly eroding.
