Gamers are worried the next Xbox console will be too expensive

Xbox fans are worried the new console will be too expensive after Microsoft confirmed the successor to the Series X/S will be “very premium”.

• READ MORE: Creating the “raucous punk” soundtrack of ‘Borderlands 4’

Earlier this month, Microsoft released the first handheld Xbox console in collaboration with ASUS. The ROG Xbox Ally is described as “the essential handheld at a great value for everyone from the casual player to the avid enthusiast” and costs £499.99 while the ROG Xbox Ally X is “the ultimate high-performance handheld, built for the most demanding players,” and costs £799.99.

Fans weren’t happy the handheld is more expensive than the Nintendo Switch 2 and the Steam Deck but according to Xbox president Sarah Bond, the next generation of Xbox consoles could also follow that premium price point.

“The next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end curated experience,” Bond said in an interview with Mashable. “You’re starting to see some of the thinking we have in this handheld [ROG Xbox Ally], but I don’t want to give it all away.”

Xbox president Sarah Bond appears to confirm that the next-gen Xbox will be a hybrid PC + console. “The next-gen console will be a very premium and high-end curated experience. You’re starting to see some of the thinking we have in this handheld…” https://t.co/ff39FR0Sai pic.twitter.com/iOvzY1KcT7

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 21, 2025

“‘Premium’ is always code for ‘expensive as fuck’,” wrote one fan. “Expensive as fuck AND not worth the money spent. That’s the message set by their new handheld,” added another. “So they spent the entirety of this gen pushing ‘value’ with the Series S and Game Pass, only to make Game Pass unaffordable and their next console high end only. Great way to lose the few customers they still have,” said a third.  “Their strategy seems to be ‘milk as many people as possible; before they inevitably shut down Xbox or fold it back into Microsoft in general,” said another fan.

Not much is known about the next-gen Xbox. Back in June, Bond said it would “deliver the next generation of graphics innovation [and] unlock a deeper level of visual quality, immersive gameplay and player experiences enhanced with the power of AI.” She also promised it would be “fully compatible” with users’ existing Xbox game library. A report earlier this month claimed the new console would launch at some point in 2027.

This year Microsoft has jacked up the cost of Xbox Game Pass and confirmed a number of global price hikes for consoles and accessories but rolled back a planned increase on the cost of games following backlash.

In other news, it’s been reported that the Nintendo Switch 2 is the best-selling console of 2025 in North America, while the PS5, the Xbox Series X/S and the original Switch have all had a “double-digit year-on-year percentage decline” in sales.

The post Gamers are worried the next Xbox console will be too expensive appeared first on NME.