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Pixel P&L: PS5 just got more expensive (again)

Pixel P&L: PS5 just got more expensive (again)

AFK Gaming Editorial
March 30, 2026

Welcome to another Pixel P&L edition. This issue takes 4 minutes to read. If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:

Sony raises PS5 prices again. The standard console now hits $649.99, less than a year after the last hike.
DDR5 RAM prices dropped this week on Google's TurboQuant news, but the window may be narrow.
Konami lifts base salaries for the fifth straight year, citing talent retention as it bets on long-term growth.
Indian gaming incubator LVL Zero drew 240 applications for its first cohort, with two-thirds of applicants founded in 2024 or later.
The Honor of Kings World Cup comes to Riyadh this July with a $3M prize pool and a cross-title format.

Let's get into it.

Sony Raises PS5 Prices by Up to $150, With Second Hike in Under a Year

Sony Interactive Entertainment will raise prices across its PlayStation 5 lineup in the US and other major markets starting April 2, citing rising component costs and broader economic pressures. The standard PS5 will increase $100 to $649.99, the Digital Edition rises $100 to $599.99, and the PS5 Pro sees the steepest increase at $150, now priced at $899.99. The PlayStation Portal remote player will also climb $50 to $249.99.

The company attributed the move to higher memory and semiconductor costs, demand for which has been driven partly by AI workloads. Similar increases have been announced in the UK, Europe, and Japan.

The revision is Sony's second PS5 price increase in less than a year, following a $50 hike in 2025. India was not included in the announcement, though price adjustments are expected once new stock arrives, with import duties and currency fluctuations likely to amplify the impact.

On Our Radar: DDR5 RAM Prices Fall on Google Algorithm News, but Relief May Be Short-Lived

DDR5 memory prices dropped this week after Google released TurboQuant, a compression algorithm that the company says can significantly reduce RAM requirements for certain AI workflows. Stock prices for memory manufacturers fell sharply on the news, pulling retail prices down with them with some kits dropping by as much as $40, according to Wccftech.

The relief may not last. Ben Barringer, head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot, told CNBC that TurboQuant is "evolutionary, not revolutionary" and does not change the industry's long-term demand outlook. The algorithm carries hard limitations that mean AI infrastructure will continue consuming memory at scale.

For PC gamers and handheld buyers eyeing an upgrade, the timing looks better than it has in months, but the window may be narrow. I expect AI-driven demand to reassert itself, and with memory manufacturers still operating well below pre-shortage inventory levels, any sustained price recovery in the broader market could push retail costs back up before you know it.

⚡️Quick Bytes

Konami Raises Base Salaries for Fifth Consecutive Year

Konami has increased base salaries for the fifth straight fiscal year, lifting starting pay by ¥70,000 compared to three years ago. The company cited a need to attract and retain talent as it invests in long-term growth. Konami reported record profits in 2024 and recently announced Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, due later this year.

Indian Gaming Incubator LVL Zero Draws 240 Applications for Inaugural Cohort

LVL Zero, backed by Nazara Technologies, MIXI Global Investments, and Chimera VC, announced that it had received more than 240 applications for its first cohort. Nearly two-thirds of applicants were founded in 2024 or later. The programme will select 10 startups, each receiving a $10,000 equity-free grant and a 100-day development sprint to help teams move from prototype to market.

Honor of Kings World Cup to Feature Cross-Title Format With $3 Million Prize Pool

The Honor of Kings World Cup, held as part of the 2026 Esports World Cup in Riyadh from July 30, will feature 20 teams competing across regional circuits including India and Southeast Asia. The tournament introduces a shared competitive format between Honor of Kings and Arena of Valor.

⚔️Side Quest

🤣Laugh:

📺 Watch: Scopely co-CEO Javier Ferreira on the Game Business podcast claims that the mobile market doesn't need new games, it needs exceptional ones that make players stay for years, not weeks. He claims that 80% of Scopely's revenue comes from players who have been with their games for over a year. His response to Supercell's Ilkka Paananen calling out the West's lack of mobile innovation is measured but pointed, and the bit about Monopoly Go hitting $3 billion faster than any mobile game in history while launching in a year everyone said new mobile games couldn't succeed is hard to argue with.

🎮 Play: Darkwater is a co-op extraction horror game where you crew a submarine trapped under alien ocean ice, splitting time between on-foot scavenging runs through flooded outposts and full naval combat against rival vessels. The loop of managing fuel, upgrading your sub, and hauling back supplies with three friends is the kind of thing that makes the sunrise sneak up on you.

📚 Read: Nathan Grayson's Aftermath deep dive on Games Done Quick traces the organisation from Mike Uyama's mother's basement to a 100-person operation that broke a hotel contract in Florida over LGBTQ legislation and ate the financial hit. The most useful parts are the ones about unglamorous maintenance: the moderation calls nobody wants to make about people with too many friends and too much influence, and what happens to communities that skip that work entirely.

💡Did You Know

A Marathon super-fan spent four months painting their Mini Cooper to look like it came straight out of Bungie's new sci-fi shooter, using nothing but rattle cans in their garage. Reddit user 'newhouj' covered the car in Marathon imagery, including a pink roof with the MIDA Faction logo and the line "Escape will make me God" from the 1994 original printed on one of the doors. Marathon has since topped the Steam best-sellers list in the US.