Huan Qiu Wang·2025-10-22 09:18Core Insights - Microsoft has significantly increased the price of its Xbox development kit (XDK) from $1,500 to $2,000, marking a 33% increase [3] - This price hike follows a previous increase in the price of the Xbox Series X console, which has risen by $150 over the past six months [3] - The price increases are attributed to changes in the macroeconomic environment, affecting developers not only in the U.S. but also in Europe and other regions due to factors like currency fluctuations and production costs [3] Group 1 - The Xbox development kit is equipped with advanced hardware, including 40GB of GDDR6 memory, which is significantly more than the 16GB in the Xbox Series X console [3] - The development kit features additional computing units, onboard debugging tools, three USB ports, a front panel display, and five programmable buttons [3] - Microsoft also raised the price of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription by 50% just weeks prior to the development kit price increase, indicating a broader strategy to manage costs amid changing economic conditions [4]