Xbox listings vanish from Costco in the US and the UK — before Microsoft’s price hikes

by

It’s been a difficult year for Xbox. Microsoft recently announced that Xbox prices in the U.S. will increase this October to $649.99. Now, it appears Costco is no longer selling Xbox consoles online, as shoppers have noticed all Xbox listings have been removed from their website.

Currently, searching for Xbox on the website in both the US and the UK returns no results. I personally checked the US site and received a message saying no matches were found. This is frustrating because I regularly buy Xbox currency cards from Costco, and I already own several Xbox consoles and purchase digital games.

I used to buy around $100 worth of Xbox gift cards each Christmas to share with friends. I’m not sure if that deal is still available in stores, but I might go check soon before they run out, if they even have any left.

It’s obvious that Costco isn’t currently offering Xbox or Microsoft products. It’s unclear whether this is due to a decision by Microsoft or Costco itself.

Even though Xbox games are selling well overall, the rising cost of the Xbox Series X and S consoles might be discouraging people from buying them, especially within their home market.

Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world when measured by sales volume. It ranks behind only Walmart and Amazon in size.

Although you can still find Xbox products and games online, Costco removing them from its website means fewer people will see what Microsoft has to offer, and that’s definitely a setback.

What’s the cause?

It’s unclear exactly why Xbox products disappeared from Costco’s website, but we can guess at a few possible explanations.

As I noted earlier, Microsoft has updated the prices of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. The Series X now costs $649.99, and the Series S is priced at $399.99.

It seems Costco may have temporarily removed its online stock list until the new prices take effect on October 3, 2025. With just over a week left, they’re probably holding onto their current inventory to reflect the updated pricing – this is a likely explanation.

These price changes only affect customers in the United States and don’t explain why Xbox products are no longer available in the U.K. We’ve confirmed that Xbox is still being sold at Costco in Canada.

Another potential reason, as some have suggested, is that the Xbox console isn’t selling as well as expected, leading Costco to stop carrying Xbox products. Although this is probably not the main reason, it’s still a possibility.

There are several reasons why this wouldn’t work, starting with the fact that Xbox is most popular in the United States. Removing it from the US market but not Canada wouldn’t make logical sense.

The timing of this removal is particularly bad. With the crucial holiday shopping season just around the corner, stopping sales now-right before the most profitable months-doesn’t make much business sense.

Then again, I’m just a journalist.

Based on my analysis, the current situation appears to be primarily fueled by the ongoing tariffs imposed by the United States. And unfortunately, I don’t anticipate these pricing pressures resolving anytime soon – they seem likely to persist for the foreseeable future.

I’ve reached out to Costco for a comment and will update as new information becomes available.

Stay up-to-date with the latest news, insights, and features from Windows Central by following us on Google News!

Read More

2025-09-24 14:10