Former Blizzard President Slams Microsoft For Using “The Tariff Excuse” To Continue Raising US Xbox Prices
According to former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra, the recent Xbox price increases have more to do with Microsoft’s inability to turn a profit on their video game operations than it does President Donald Trump’s tariff chaos – and like most corporations, they’re intent on passing the costs on to their customer base.
Going into effect on October 3rd, said price increases will see Microsoft “update the recommended retailer pricing for Series S and Series X consoles in the United States due to changes in the macroeconomic environment”, with each console seeing a price increase of at least $20 USD:
Xbox Series S (512 GB): $379.99 USD -> $399.99 USD (+$20 USD)
Xbox Series S (1 TB): $429.99 USD -> $449.99 USD (+$20 USD)
Xbox Series X (Digital): $549.99 USD -> $599.99 USD (+$50 USD)
Xbox Series X (Disc): $599.99 USD -> $649.99 USD (+$50 USD)
Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Limited Edition: $729.99 -> $799.99 USD (+$70 USD)
“We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration,” the company added. “Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and providing value for Xbox players.”
Notably, these increases mark the second such Xbox pricing updates handed by Microsoft in 2025, the first round coming on May 1st and similarly being blamed on Trump’s ongoing misapplication of tariffs based on his own moment-to-moment whims.
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However, the aforementioned Ybarra is not buying Microsoft’s public-facing rhetoric.
Taking to his personal Twitter account in the wake of the console’s latest pricing announcement, he declared, “Console price increases are not tariff issues, they are profit issues. And the reason why profits are not where they should be is a far, far deeper issue vs. the tariff excuse.”
His comment met with denial and whataboutism from Xbox fans, Ybarra would further elaborate after another Twitter user argued that he wasn’t just taking random shots at the console, but rather “linking this [price increase] to his opinions towards the missteps Microsoft has had in the console market which led them more to pivot towards a platform that exists regardless of the console [Gamepass].”
“Yes,” confirmed Ybarra in turn. “And tariffs went up once so that does justify the single price increase. An excuse to continue raising prices, with no new increase in tariffs, is simply a different problem and they are going to make consumers continue to pay for those problems.”
All in all, only time will tell if the floor has finally fallen out on Microsoft’s Xbox ambitions – or if the hardware will see yet another increase any time soon.
In the mean time, given this rising pricing trend, cost-savy players looking to either upgrade or replace their hardware might be more interested in finally making the leap to PC.
