Microsoft has hiked the price of its Xbox Series X by £170 due to rising memory chip costs. The console now retails at £670, up from a previous £500. Meanwhile, the more affordable Xbox Series S has seen a 43% increase in price, jumping from £300 to £430.

The spike is part of a broader trend among tech companies feeling the pinch from surging component prices. Sony has also increased PlayStation 5 prices by £90 in March, and even Valve’s PC-console hybrid came with an unexpectedly high cost.

Rising memory and graphics card costs have been partly blamed on demand from AI firms, leading to eye-watering price hikes for old consoles. Critics argue that such increases are particularly egregious given the older age of some devices.

Industry insiders warn prices could rise even higher, with one editor predicting 'this ain’t even the ceiling' in Xbox’s price hikes. As hardware costs climb, Amazon’s gaming boss suggests more people might turn to streaming games rather than buying consoles.

The latest console restructure from Microsoft also reveals internal struggles, reducing its workforce by approximately 3,200 as it faces financial dips across its gaming division. The question remains: where's the PlayStation 6, and will gamers keep their gaming dollars in their pockets?