Xbox Series S, The “Cheap” Option, Now Costs As Much As Series X Did Six Years Ago

When Xbox Series S launched alongside Series X and PS5, it presented a compelling argument: Play all of the same games as elsewhere, albeit with lesser performance and visuals, for way cheaper. $300 felt surprisingly reasonable, giving you a way to save $100 compared to the cheapest PS5 and $200 compared to the more premium PS5 and Series X models. With the Series S turning six later this year, you’d expect it–like every other console–to get cheaper over time, as has always been the case. But this is 2026, baby. Welcome to hell.

Beginning August 1, Xbox Series S will cost as much as Xbox Series X did at launch in November 2020: $500. Almost six years after launch, the price will have increased 67%. We’ve already covered news of this Xbox price increase, and yet the reality of Series S now hitting the Series X’s nearly six-year-old launch price is one of the most staggering facts of this entire saga. (For now, you can still grab one for $380 on Amazon, which is more than you would have previously paid but still a hell of a lot better than $500.)

It’s the exact opposite direction the price should be going in based on historical precedent. Yet the Series S is, like virtually any piece of modern hardware that needs RAM and storage, faced with price increases due to the AI-driven chip storage–a shortage, it should be noted, that Microsoft has meaningfully contributed to as one of the biggest purveyors of AI products.

Much has been said about the way gaming consoles are arguably pricing themselves out of relevance. Major change is afoot in almost every way–how games are played, made, distributed, and engaged with over longer and longer periods of time. Series S at launch was a much more palatable option for those who are price-conscious, with Microsoft proudly declaring it “the smallest, most affordable next-generation console.” 

That might still strictly be true at $500 with other consoles also going up in price, but the reality is, if you’re an average person just looking for a cheap way to play something like GTA 6 this fall–or, frighteningly, any point in 2027 or beyond–you’re pretty much screwed.