It will become more expensive to develop for Xbox, announces Microsoft

After increasing the costs of the Xbox for the consumer market twice in the same year, Microsoft will also make it more expensive to develop for the console. According to The Verge, this will happen as a result of an adjustment in the price of Series S|X development kits.

Since the line of consoles made its debut, developers interested in working with it had to pay US$1,500 for customized hardware. Now, this value has jumped to US$2,000, or 33% more. And, as expected by those who follow corporate statements, the company attributed the changes to “macroeconomic developments”.

“We remain committed to offering high-quality tools and supporting your development efforts“, said Microsoft in a message sent to partners. Questioned by The Verge, the Xbox manufacturer has not yet publicly commented on the price adjustment.

Xbox was greatly affected by tariffs in force in the United States

Although Microsoft did not mention the United States government’s recent decisions in its recent announcement, everything indicates that the readjustment was motivated by them, at least in part. Recently, the country began working with a 30% tax on imports from Chinaa country where the company — and several other companies — concentrates its production lines.

To avoid having to make new readjustments in the future, the corporation is even taking measures to take Xbox production to other locations. However, these source diversification efforts are neither simple nor quick, which has direct consequences for consumers — and now, developers.

In addition to taxation, other “macroeconomic developments” include increases in production costs, as well as the continued upward trend in global inflation. The Series S|X development kits were already considered expensive by industry standards, precisely because they included hardware that allowed development for both versions of the platform.

Special models come with a total of 40 GB of GGDR6 memorymore USB connections and internal tools for game debugging. Therefore, they prove to be quite valuable for studios that intend to work with the platform, which may find themselves discouraged from doing so after the recent readjustment.

Fonte: The Verge