Xbox Series X Review: After the August Price Rise, It Is Hard to Pick Over a PS5 or a PC

The Series X did not get worse in August. It got more expensive, and that changes the whole question. A console review used to ask whether the box was good. This one has to ask whether it is $750 good.

What the hardware still does well

The spec sheet is six years old and still holds up. Microsoft lists a custom Zen 2 CPU with eight cores at 3.8 GHz, a 12 TFLOPS RDNA 2 GPU, 16GB of GDDR6 and a 1TB NVMe SSD with 2.4 GB/s of raw throughput. The target is true 4K with up to 120 frames per second.

That is still plenty. Most big releases run at 4K or a high-quality upscale, and load times are short. The box stays quiet next to a TV. If you own a 4K set with a 120 Hz input, you will see what the console was designed for.

The disc model also keeps a 4K UHD Blu-ray drive. The digital model skips it. That matters more than it sounds, because physical games are the one way to resell, borrow or trade a title.

The August price rise

On August 1, 2026, Microsoft raised console prices for the third time. Reports put the 1TB Series X Digital at $749.99, up from $599.99, and the 1TB disc model at $799.99, up from $649.99. Microsoft's stated reason, per Wccftech, is that console storage and memory prices have risen by more than 2.5 times, with another doubling expected by fall 2027. The 2TB models are being discontinued for now.

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We would not tell you a hardware cost rise is anyone's fault. It still lands in your wallet. For that money you could buy a decent mid-range gaming PC part list, or a PS5 and a year of online play.

Game Pass is the actual product

Microsoft is really selling a subscription with a box attached. The Game Pass page says plans start at $9.99 a month and offer hundreds of games, with day-one releases on the higher tiers. If you already pay for it, the console is the easiest way to use it.

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Do the sum before you buy. If you stay on a mid tier at $9.99 a month, that is about $120 a year. A console that costs $750 needs several years of use before the box itself feels like good value.