Xbox has confirmed steep price increases across its console range in the UK and Europe, with UK prices rising between 34 and 49 percent following a global memory shortage. The hikes, which had been previously flagged as likely, have now proven more severe than anticipated for British and European customers, drawing sharp criticism from gamers online who see the timing as damaging given Xbox's recent struggles.

In the UK, the 1TB Xbox Series X disc console rises from £500 to £670, while the entry-level 512GB Series S jumps from £300 to £430 and its 1TB version from £350 to £520. Similar increases apply across Europe and the US, where prices climb by roughly $100-$150 per console. The move comes amid a difficult period for Microsoft's gaming division, which recently reported a 10 percent drop in content and services revenue and cut 3,200 jobs, including 1,600 immediate redundancies affecting studios such as Bethesda and Id Software.