By Joelle Daniels

Copyright gamingbolt

The recent price hikes for the Xbox Series X/S in the US were originally thought to have happened because of the country’s tariffs for imported goods. However, former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra believes that the price hikes actually came about because Microsoft wants higher profit margins for its console sales.

The price hikes were originally announced by Microsoft as being due to “changes in the macroeconomic environment” in the country. Ybarra noted that a single price hike in response to the tariffs makes sense. However, raising prices even after that is more likely to indicate the need for a stronger bottom line at the company.

“Console price increases are not tariff issues, they are profit issues,” wrote Ybarra on social media platform X. “And the reason why profits are not where they should be is a far, far deeper issue vs. the tariff excuse.”

In response to another post, Ybarra brought up the fact that tariffs haven’t gone up since they were originally imposed. “An excuse to continue raising prices, with no new increase in tariffs, is simply a different problem and they are going to make consumers continue to pay for those problems,” he wrote.

For the sake of context, the new pricing for Xbox Series X/S consoles will go into effect on October 3 onwards, and will not affect the pricing in markets outside of the US. As part of this, the Xbox Series S 512 GB model will cost $399.99, while the 1 TB model will go up to $449.99. The Xbox Series X Digital is set to be the most affordable option of the more powerful console, coming in at $599.99. With the disc drive, the console will cost $649.99. Those looking for larger storage space right out of the box will have to pay $799.99 for the Xbox Series X 2 TB Galaxy Black Special Edition console.

The differences in pricing are varied. Both models of the Xbox Series S, for example, are going up by $20, while the 2 TB Xbox Series X is seeing the largest jump in price, coming in at $70.

Microsoft is far from the only console maker raising the prices of its hardware. Back in August, Sony had announced that prices for all variants of the PS5 would be going up in the US. The base model of the PS5, for example, is now priced at 549.99, and the Digital Edition is now $499.99. The PS5 Pro is the most expensive console in Sony’s line-up, coming in at $749.99. All in all, Sony’s new pricing reflects a hike of $50. None of the console’s various accessories are going up in price, however.

As for Nintendo, the Japanese console maker had announced in August that the prices of the original Switch, the Switch OLED, and the Switch Lite have all gone up in the US. The base model Switch saw a $40 increase up to $339.99. The OLED model, on the other hand, went up by $50 to $399.99, and the Switch Lite got more expensive by $30, now priced at $229.99.