PS5 Gets Massive Price Increase in the US—Pricing Differences Explained

Sony has announced that they are increasing the price of the PS5 and PS5 Pro in the United States. Here is everything you need to know about PlayStation 5’s new console pricing and when the change goes into effect.

PS5 Price Increase Announced by Sony

Many players were taken by surprise when Sony quietly posted an August 20 update explaining that they are increasing the prices of all PlayStation consoles in the US.

In their statement, Sony claims it was a “difficult decision” to increase the prices of their PS5 and PS5 Pro units. The Japanese publisher also confirmed that the new PlayStation 5 pricing will go into effect starting Thursday, August 21, 2025.

“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment. 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.”

Fortunately, Sony added that most PS5 accessories will not see a price increase, although they didn’t rule out raising the cost in the future.

For your convenience, here is a list of the new PS5 prices:

PlayStation 5 players are furious over the price increase

As for why Sony is increasing the price of the PS5 and PS5 Pro, the publisher wouldn’t go into detail beyond citing “challenging economic times.” However, many speculated it was due to the recent tariffs being leveraged against China and Japan. Regardless of the reason, many PlayStation fans were not buying it and openly criticized Sony’s decision.

Over on X, many angry PS5 players vented their frustrations. “$750 for the Pro? With no disk drive? $550 for a console that came out 5 years ago? This is nuts,” a user wrote. Another commenter replied, “It’s getting to the point where even saying the word ‘PlayStation’ leaves a bad taste.”

One player even commented, “Challenging economic times? Well no s—, but maybe go into a little detail and make us understand why. You think it’s challenging for you in this economy? Imagine what regular people deal with.”

Another major criticism players had was that the PS5 came out in 2020. In previous generations, console prices typically decreased over time as parts became cheaper to manufacture. However, it appears this generation is now going in the opposite direction.

If you’ve been waiting to get a PS5 up to this point, then you might want to go out and buy a console today (August 20) as soon as possible! In 24 hours, the pricing across all PlayStation consoles will go up at all retailers, even digital marketplaces like Amazon.

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