Microsoft hikes Xbox prices

Amid a backdrop of ongoing tariff uncertainty, more and more gamers are facing price hikes.

Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week.

Its Xbox Series S, for example, now starts at $379.99 in the U.S. — up $80 from the $299.99 price tag that debuted in 2020.

And its more powerful Xbox Series X will be $599.99 going forward, a $100 jump from its previous $499.99 listing.

“We understand that these changes are challenging,” Microsoft wrote in a Thursday Xbox support update and subsequent statement sent to The Associated Press.

The tech giant didn’t point to tariffs specifically, but cited wider “market conditions and the rising cost of development.”

Beyond the U.S., Microsoft also laid out Xbox price adjustments for Europe, the U.K. and Australia.

Public broadcasting faces cuts

The head of PBS said Friday that President Donald Trump’s executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to public broadcasting institutions PBS and NPR was blatantly unlawful.

NPR’s chief also vowed to challenge the decision.

Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger said the Republican president’s order “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.”

“We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue to serve our member stations and all Americans,” Kerger said.

Trump signed the order late Thursday, alleging “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.

— Associated Press