Sony is raising the price of its PlayStation 5 consoles worldwide, including a $100 jump in the United States — the company’s second price hike in under a year. The increases are being driven largely by a tighter supply of memory chips, as chipmakers shift their focus toward higher-margin data center components to meet AI infrastructure demand.
Starting April 2, the standard PS5 will retail for $649.99, up from $549.99. The Digital Edition moves to $599.99, while the premium PS5 Pro climbs to $899.99. The PlayStation Portal remote player will also see its price rise, from $199.99 to $249.99.
Price increases are taking effect in Europe and Japan as well. Sony described the decision as the result of a thorough review of rising cost pressures across global supply chains.
The AI boom has created a ripple effect across the consumer electronics industry. As demand for data center chips surges, manufacturers have been prioritizing those higher-value products, leaving less supply — and higher costs — for consumer hardware like gaming consoles.
Analysts expect the price increases to weigh on console sales going into 2026. Sony’s PS5 has already been showing signs of slowing momentum: during the October-to-December holiday quarter, the company sold 8 million units — a 16% drop compared to the same period a year earlier. The console has now been on the market for roughly six years.
Sony last adjusted PS5 pricing in August of last year, raising it by around $50. Microsoft made a similar move with its Xbox consoles in 2025, citing comparable cost pressures.
The wider gaming industry is feeling the strain. Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, pointed to sluggish console sales as one of the factors behind a major round of layoffs announced this week. GameStop has also been shuttering locations nationwide as retail foot traffic tied to physical game sales continues to decline.
On the semiconductor side, Elon Musk has announced plans for a new AI chip manufacturing facility — called the “Terafab” — developed through a partnership between Tesla and SpaceX. The facility would include two separate operations: one producing AI chips for Tesla’s electric vehicles and Optimus humanoid robots, and another focused on chips for SpaceX’s space-based data centers. Whether that kind of domestic manufacturing investment will ease supply constraints for consumer devices remains to be seen.