PS6 and Xbox Project Helix "will start at a 50% higher price" than PS5 and Xbox Series X, predict analysts following Sony price hike – and $999 "is not impossible"

Now that Sony has raised the prices of the PlayStation 5, the starting points for the next generation of consoles have just gotten higher, analysts believe. As they see it, be prepared to potentially drop $1,000 on the PlayStation 6 and the Xbox Project Helix, based on current projections.

Nobody's surprised by Sony's move, as multiple economic and political factors have necessitated higher price tags, although veteran Circana games industry analyst Mat Piscatella tells GamesRadar+ that "this one is a bigger price jump than I had been anticipating."

"The relentless effort by the US administration to disrupt the global economy is backfiring exactly as expected," Joost van Dreunen, video games professor at NYU and industry researcher, tells us. "Already in 2024 did console manufacturers signal that any tariffs would have a major impact on pricing. The cost for DRAM and NAND have surged 80-90 percent since the start of 2026."

He points toward data centers for AI hoovering up hardware and turmoil in parts of Asia making distribution of parts difficult as well, creating a storm of bad circumstances. The leaps up are immediately noticeable, as the PS5 Pro will now cost $900, increasingly close to four figures. The belief is that Sony's taken a couple of potential jumps into account, while giving it room for reduction if the worst-case scenario isn't what happens.

"It looks like Sony baked in potential future fluctuations and decided to go for one substantial increase in early 2026 instead of raising prices more frequently and over a longer period of time," Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of consultancy firm Kantan Games, tells GamesRadar+. "This strategy also gives them some leeway to lower prices and offer 'deals' if things surprisingly get better."

We're on the cusp of hearing about the latest machines in the Xbox and PlayStation lineage, and it does seem like this is a harbinger for what they'll cost consumers at launch. "I think $999 at least for one variant of the PS6 is not impossible," Toto states. Meanwhile, van Dreunen agrees that "we're quickly moving towards a world in which a $1,000 console will be the norm, and console gaming will become a luxury expenditure."

He continues: "They really don't want to raise prices on their hardware, because that part is usually a heavily subsidized part of the equation and the sale of games is the gravity point of their revenue model. I predict that the next generation of console hardware will start at a 50% higher price point than the current one did."

Piscatella believes "both the timing and pricing of something like a PS6 must be considered to be in flux," noting that "there is just far too much volatility and uncertainty."

He continues: "Could we see $1k+ pricing? Sure, that's possible. Would really hate to see that, but it's possible. Could it be 2027? Maybe. Could it be 2028? Sure. Later? Why not. I do not think that current market conditions allow for much certainty at all in the hardware market. Hopefully the conditions improve. They could get worse. Who knows."

Project Helix "might be Microsoft's last attempt to make their hardware business work," analyst suggests: "There is nobody in this industry who believes there will be another Xbox if this next machine fails."