PS5 Price Surges Significantly in UK and Europe

Hey gamers, it looks like Sony has decided to up the ante on the price of its PlayStation 5 hardware across the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. We're talking about a hike of 10-15 percent, and they're pointing fingers at "a challenging economic environment." With US import costs climbing, thanks to those pesky tariffs, you can bet your bottom dollar that a similar price surge might be headed our way stateside.

Sony crafts most of its PS5 hardware in China, which now faces a hefty 145 percent tariff when trying to import into the US. And guess what? Game consoles didn't make the cut for the recent pause on some tech tariffs. So, this price bump in other regions could be Sony's way of softening the blow for when they inevitably have to adjust prices in the US, a market they can't afford to lose.

The PS5 Digital Edition is feeling the brunt of this change, with price increases hitting all four markets. Meanwhile, the standard version with the disc drive is only seeing a slight increase in Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, the PlayStation 5 Pro is holding steady at its current price across the board. And, in a surprising move, Sony is actually trimming the price of its add-on disc drive accessory a bit.

In their blog post, Sony chalked up the price adjustment to "high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates," but they didn't breathe a word about Trump's tariffs or the rising import costs into the US, where prices are staying put—for the time being, anyway. Analyst Serkan Toto, speaking to CNBC, expressed skepticism about Sony's ability to keep US prices stable, suggesting that now might be the "right" time for Sony to pull the trigger on a price increase.

This isn't the first time Sony's played this tune. They did the same thing back in August 2022, blaming it on "high global inflation rates and adverse currency trends," but they made it clear they wouldn't touch US prices. This time around, there's no such promise, leaving us all in suspense.

Meanwhile, Nintendo is still keeping us waiting on preorders for its Switch 2 in North America, probably because they're bracing for their own price hike announcement soon.

New PS5 Prices

Europe:

• PS5 Digital Edition – €499.99 (was €449.99)

UK:

• PS5 Digital Edition – £429.99 (was £389.99)

Australia:

• PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – AUD $829.95 (was AUD $799.95)
• PS5 Digital Edition – AUD $749.95 (was AUD $649.95)

New Zealand:

• PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – NZD $949.95 (was NZD $899.95)
• PS5 Digital Edition – NZD $859.95 (was NZD $769.96)

New Disc Drive for PS5 Prices

• Europe – €79.99 (was €119.99)
• UK – £69.99 (was £99.99)
• Australia – AUD $124.95 (was AUD $159.95)
• New Zealand – NZD $139.95 (was NZD $169.95)