Sony has confirmed it is raising the price of the PlayStation 5 in select markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as Australia and New Zealand.
The price increases will hit both the PS5 Digital Edition and the regular PS5 that comes with a disc drive. However, not every region is seeing the same models affected.
In Europe and the U.K., the price of the PS5 Digital Edition will rise to €499.99 and £429.99 respectively. That's a €50 price hike for the Europeans and a £40 price hike for the Brits. However, the standard PS5 with the disc drive won't see a price rise.
With a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, SIE has made the tough decision to raise the recommended retail price of the PlayStation 5 console.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
In Australia and New Zealand, both the standard PS5 with a disc drive and the Digital Edition will see price rises. In Australia, the standard model will now cost AUD $829.95 while the Digital Edition jumps to AUD $749.95. In New Zealand, the new prices for the standard and digital models are NZD $949.95 and NZD $859.95.
At a time when the U.S. tariffs are causing worldwide chaos with ever-changing rates being imposed on countries, this probably doesn't come as a surprise.
Sony has cited "a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates," as a reason for the pricing increase.
So far, the United States hasn't been included in the price hike but here's what the increases look like for the other regions.
Disc Drive drop
It's not all bad news. Sony has kept the (admittedly high) price of the PlayStation 5 Pro the same in these regions and will actually decrease the price of the PS5 Disc Drive from April 14.
The disc drive can be added to either the Digital Edition or the PlayStation 5 Pro to allow it to play physical games. The new prices for each region are as follows:
- Europe — €79.99
- UK — £69.99
- Australia — AUD $124.95
- New Zealand — NZD $139.95
It's hard to know if Nintendo's Switch 2 played a part in Sony increasing its pricing but one one analyst speaking to the BBC suggested it could well have been a factor.
Piers Harding-Rolls, research director at Ampere Analysis, told the news organization Nintendo's higher-than-expected Switch 2 price tag gave Sony "the green light to increase pricing".
He said, "At its current pricing, the digital version would be cheaper than the Switch 2, leaving Sony with some breathing space to increase its pricing, while remaining competitive across the console hardware market".
Whatever happens with the current tariff situation, it looks like gaming could become a more expensive hobby across the board. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below.
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