TLDR
- Sony is raising PS5 prices by up to $150 in the U.S., effective April 2, 2026.
- The PS5 disc edition will go from $549.99 to $649.99, and the PS5 Pro will hit $899.99.
- Sony cites “pressures in the global economic landscape,” including surging memory chip costs.
- Price hikes are also coming in the U.K., Europe, and Japan.
- SONY stock barely moved on the news, with well below-average trading volume on the day.
Sony is raising prices on its PlayStation 5 lineup for the second time in under a year. The increases take effect on April 2, 2026, and hit consumers across the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Japan.
In the U.S., the standard PS5 disc edition goes from $549.99 to $649.99 — a $100 jump. The digital edition climbs to $599.99, also up $100. Sony’s top-tier PS5 Pro takes the biggest hit, rising $150 to $899.99. The PS Portal remote player will now cost $249.99.
PLAYSTATION PRICE INCREASE — effective April 2
US:
PS5: $549 → $649 (+$100)
PS5 Digital: $499 → $599 (+$100)
PS5 Pro: $749 → $899 (+$150)
Portal: $199 → $249 (+$50)UK:
PS5: £479 → £569 (+£90)
PS5 Digital: £429 → £519 (+£90)
PS5 Pro: £699 → £789 (+£90)
Portal: £199… pic.twitter.com/w0thUE7npd— HYPEX (@HYPEX) March 27, 2026
Sony pointed to “continued pressures in the global economic landscape” as the reason. In a blog post, the company said the move was “necessary” to keep delivering “innovative, high-quality gaming experiences.”
This is the second time Sony has raised PS5 prices in less than a year. The previous hike came against a backdrop of high inflation and uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.
This time, a key driver is the cost of memory chips. Memory is a core component of the PS5, and prices have surged as chip makers prioritize supply for AI data centers. Demand is high and supply remains tight.
What Analysts Are Saying
Piers Harding-Rolls, research director of games at Ampere Analysis, told CNBC the increases were “inevitable.” He said Sony likely had price protections on components that have now expired.
“With no sign of prices easing… Sony will have made the move to protect its slim hardware margins,” Harding-Rolls said. He also suggested Microsoft and Nintendo could follow suit.
Nintendo has kept prices steady on its Switch 2, which launched last year. Harding-Rolls noted the awkward position that puts the company in: raising prices on a new platform it’s still trying to build an audience for isn’t ideal.
Harding-Rolls also flagged the Middle East conflict as a potential additional pressure. “A new wave of inflation is expected from the war in the Middle East, and this will compound the effect of the component price increases,” he said.
In the U.K., each PS5 model goes up by £90 (roughly $120). European and Japanese consumers are also seeing increases, with the PS5 Pro reaching ¥137,980 in Japan.
How Sony Plans to Offset the Pressure
During a February earnings call, a Sony executive said the company is focused on squeezing more value from its existing PS5 install base. That means pushing software sales and growing network services revenue rather than relying on hardware alone.
SONY stock barely moved on Friday. It was up just 0.02% on the day as of last check, with around 2 million shares traded — well below the three-month daily average of 5.57 million.
The stock is down 21.8% year-to-date and 20.17% over the past 12 months.
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