Sony is jacking up the price of the PS5 again and is claiming it is all due to the memory shortage.
For those who came in late, memory and storage shortages that began biting PC components in late 2025 have spread across consumer tech, pushing some gear out of stock and driving prices higher.
On 27 March 2026, Sony confirmed another PlayStation 5 price rise in the US, just eight months after its last hike.
The drive-less PS5 Digital Edition jumps from $500 to $600, and the standard PS5 with an optical drive goes from $550 to $650.
The PS5 Pro gets the worst treatment, with the price climbing from $750 to $900, which is a bold way to celebrate a console more than five years old.
At the start of 2025, those machines were priced at $450, $500, and $700, so the “next gen” badge is doing a lot of work for something that is elderly and a bit smelly.
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo pushed through one or more console price increases during 2025, though that round was more about Trump administration tariffs than parts shortages.
Console price cuts have been getting rarer since the 2010s, and the result is that ageing boxes like the PS5 look expensive at this point in the cycle.
Things might get worse, as memory manufacturers such as Kioxia have said capacity is already sold out through the end of 2026, so anyone hoping for a quick return to sanity can have a lie down.
In the meantime, Sony’s latest maths says the PS5 is getting pricier while the parts pipeline stays tight, and the rest of the industry will be watching how much pain gamers will swallow.
All this is starting to spark rumours of a move back to PC gaming. After all, if you are going to spend a lot of cash on gaming, you might as well get it with all the comfort and power of a proper rig.
