Sony has announced a price increase for its PlayStation 5 (PS5) Digital Edition console in the UK, citing "challenging economic environment" as the driving factor.
The price hike, effective on Monday, will see the discless version of the popular console rise from £390 to £430.
In a blog post, Sony acknowledged the "tough decision," attributing it to "high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates."
"With a backdrop of a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, SIE has made the tough decision to raise the recommended retail price (RRP) of the PlayStation 5 console in select markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Australia and New Zealand," the blog post reads.
This announcement follows recent global economic instability, including US President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs and subsequent pauses on some of those tariffs.
The fluctuating situation, particularly regarding electronics imports, has created uncertainty for manufacturers like Sony.
As part of its announcement, Sony also confirmed some PS5 price rises for Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
In Europe, the price of the PS5 Digital Edition is rising from 449 euros to 499 euros.
A majority of PlayStation 5 hardware is manufactured in China, which is now subject to 145 percent tariffs on imports into the US. Game consoles are not included in the pause on some tech tariffs announced on Friday.
Sony said the price in Europe and the UK for the standard PlayStation 5, which was released in 2020 and comes with a Blu-ray disc drive, will remain unchanged. The price for the PS5 Pro version, which was released last year, will also remain the same.
Meanwhile, Sony is slightly decreasing the price of its add-on disc drive accessory. The price has dropped from £99.99 to £69.99 in the UK, €79.99 in Europe, $124.95 in Australia and $139.95 in New Zealand.
The news of the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console’s price rise comes after Sony announced plans to increase the price of PS Plus subscriptions in selected regions.
The electronics giant announced that customers in 15 Latin American countries and Southeast Asia will need to pay more for PS Plus memberships in the coming weeks.
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