Sony has confirmed a sweeping global price increase for all PlayStation 5 hardware, effective April 2, 2026 — and gamers are not happy. The PS5 Disc Edition now costs $649.99 in the United States, up $100 from its previous price. The PS5 Digital Edition climbs to $599.99, while the PS5 Pro — Sony's premium offering — jumps a steep $150 to an eye-watering $899.99.
The culprit? A deepening global memory chip crisis. The insatiable demand for AI infrastructure has redirected semiconductor manufacturing capacity toward high-margin data center memory, leaving consumer device makers like Sony scrambling for supply. DRAM prices have reportedly surged more than 170% year-over-year, making it increasingly expensive to produce the components that go into PlayStation hardware. Sony framed the increase as unavoidable, stating in an official blog post that "this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide."
This is the second PS5 price hike in less than a year. Sony last raised prices in August 2025, and the back-to-back increases are drawing comparisons to the inflation-driven hardware market of the early 2020s. The PlayStation Portal remote player also saw its price rise to $249.99, up from $199.99.
The ripple effects of the memory shortage extend beyond Sony. Nintendo has stated it is "carefully considering the situation" with regard to Switch 2 pricing, and Valve has reportedly shelved its planned Steam Machine revival due to component costs. Industry analysts are warning that the crisis could delay next-generation hardware timelines — with some reports suggesting the PS6 may be pushed as far as 2029.
For now, players looking to get into the PlayStation ecosystem before prices climb further may want to act quickly. Sony has indicated no changes are planned for PlayStation Plus subscription pricing or first-party game costs — but with hardware now at an all-time high, the barrier to entry for console gaming just got significantly steeper.