PlayStation confirms PS5 price increase in the UK and beyond
Sony becomes the latest company to hike prices.
Less than two weeks after the Switch 2 price reveal sparked complaints from players, Sony is getting in on the action with its own price increases.
In a post uploaded to the official PlayStation blog on 13th April, the company confirmed that the price of its flagship console would be rising in certain regions by 10-15 per cent, including the UK.
From 14th April onwards, the PS5 Digital Edition will go from £389.99 to £429.99 in the UK, and from €449.99 to €499.99 in the Eurozone.
Australia and New Zealand are set to be hit particularly hard, with the price of both the standard and digital consoles receiving price hikes in both countries.
On the reasoning behind the increase, PlayStation cites a "challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates".
While not mentioned in the blog post, it feels safe to assume that the impact of recent US tariffs will be a contributing factor.
Japan has been threatened with a 24 per cent tariff, and while China has benefitted from a pause on some tech tariffs, game consoles are not included, meaning they are subject to the full 145 per cent tariff rate currently in place.
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It isn't all doom and gloom, though, as Sony has actually decreased the price of the PS5 Disc Drive across the UK, Eurozone, Australia and New Zealand.
The Disc Drive attachment, which allows players to play physical games on a digital-only console, will now cost £69.99, down from £99.99 in the UK, with similar reductions in the other three regions.
As for a price rise in the US, games industry analyst Serkan Toto told CNBC that it is, effectively, only a matter of time.
"I would be very surprised if Sony was able to keep the PlayStation prices in the US stable," he explained.
He went on to add that if Sony was to increase prices, "now would be the 'right' time", as the company may be able to avoid some of the backlash, but it is likely waiting for a clearer view of the still-unfolding tariff situation.
With a US price increase seemingly a matter of when, not if, Sony may view a price rise in other markets as a necessity to mitigate the short-term impact of US tariffs, as well as to reduce how much it may have to increase US prices down the line.
Sony is by no means the only games company struggling to operate in the current economic climate, with Nintendo also feeling the squeeze.
The company has recently delayed the launch of Switch 2 pre-orders in the US and Canada as a result of uncertainty around tariffs on Japan and Vietnam, where the console is being manufactured.
Whether this round of tariffs will stick or not remains unclear, but it appears inevitable that this set of price increases will by no means be the last.
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