Microsoft is increasing the price of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions in the UK.
The Series X hardware is going up £30 from £449.99 to £479.99. That matches the price of the PS5 disc edition in the UK. Sony raised its prices in August last year.
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Microsoft has been resisting the temptation to increase the price of the console as it attempts to reel in Sony’s lead, but the decision has now been made. There’s still time to get the Xbox Series X for the original price as the increase won’t take effect until August 1.
The price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in the UK will go up £2 a month from £10.99 to £12.99. The regular Game Pass proposition, which doesn’t offer access to Xbox Cloud Gaming and other perks will go up £1 to £8.99.
While the Game Pass price hikes are universal, Microsoft is raising the price of the hardware everywhere but the US, Japan, Chile, Brazil, and Colombia. Microsoft has said the decision to raise the prices comes because of the “competitive conditions” in each market.
“We’ve held on our prices for consoles for many years and have adjusted the prices to reflect the competitive conditions in each market,” Kari Perez, head of communications for Xbox, told The Verge.
“These Game Pass price adjustments are not related to the Activision Blizzard deal, and are intended to match local market conditions,” he added.
Those prices won’t change until at least August 13 and if you’re locked in for a year you’ll have until your current plan runs out. You may be able to renew for a year now to ensure you stack those existing prices for as long as possible.
