PS5 joins price-hike party in US due to ‘challenging economic environment’

The unfortunate trend of price increases for gaming hardware and software of late has hit the U.S. again, this time for PlayStation gamers.

Sony announced today that U.S. PS5 hardware will be jumping in price. Without specifically naming the reason, like every other company, it’s due to tariffs imparted by the U.S. government on many regions in the world where technology like the PS5 is manufactured.

“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Sony said in its announcement today. “As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21.”

This “difficult decision” means all of the PS5 models will be $50 higher. The base PS5 is now $549, the PS4 Digital Edition is $499, and the PS5 Pro comes in at a staggering $749, starting tomorrow. So, I guess if you were on the fence about picking up a PS5, today’s the day to do it if you wanna save a little bit.

Sony’s decision follows the disappointing trend of companies having to up their prices in order to offset tariffs. For example, Xbox increased the price of its consoles and accessories at the start of May, and some Nintendo Switch 2 games like Mario Kart World are being priced at a new high of $80.

For now, at least, Sony says the MSRP of PS5 accessories “remain unchanged” and the company said it has “no other price changes to announce for additional markets.” But don’t be surprised to see even more price fluctuation in the opposite direction than most would like.

Regardless of anyone’s thoughts on the state of the world economy, the fact that gaming continues to become a more and more expensive hobby is not what anyone who’s playing them would like to see.