Sony is again increasing the price of PS5 and PS5 Pro, bringing the buy-in price for a full PlayStation VR2 system up to $1000, higher than it was at the headset's launch.
The following price increases will take effect on Thursday:
- PS5 Digital Edition: $500 –> $600
- PS5: $550 –> $650
- PS5 Pro: $750 –> $900
This is the second time in less than a year that Sony has increased the price of its consoles, required to power the PlayStation VR2 headset if you don't own a gaming PC, or if you want to access PS VR2's exclusive titles.
The price hike will take place globally, with all regions seeing similar increases.
David Heaney
Sony ascribes the new price hikes to "continued pressures in the global economic landscape", without giving a more specific reason. It's likely driven by the global memory shortage caused by AI datacenter buildouts, as well as factors like trade tariffs and war-related disruption to Qatar's export of helium, an essential element for semiconductor manufacturing.
It's the first time in gaming history that a mainstream console has gotten significantly more expensive over time rather than less. The PS5 Digital Edition launched almost six years ago at $400, yet will now cost $200 more.
That more than offsets the $150 price cut the PlayStation VR2 headset saw last year, meaning the minimum total cost of a PS VR2 system with a PS5 console is now $1000, up from $950 at the headset's launch.
David Heaney
Of course, Sony isn't uniquely affected by worsening global macroeconomic conditions. Last month Valve announced that it needs to "revisit" its "exact shipping schedule and pricing" for Steam Frame and Steam Machine, though the company said its goal is still to ship in the first half of this year.
The situation will likely also affect Meta's plans. While The Wall Street Journal reported last year that Meta was targeting $1000 for its next headset, that seems increasingly unlikely.
