Retailers Slash Xbox Prices as Manufacturer Price Hikes Bite

The cuts signal resistance to pricing expectations as blockbuster releases and IP battles intensify.

Melvin Hanna

Key Highlights

  • Costco New Zealand clears remaining Xbox stock at approximately 50% off after announced price hikes
  • Insomniac’s Wolverine is scheduled for a Fall 2026 release window
  • Ultima Online marks 28 years since launch, underscoring persistent MMO influence

From price shocks to prestige reveals, r/gaming spent the day navigating the state of platforms and the art of play. The community balanced skepticism over remasters with excitement for new tentpoles, while revisiting icons and interrogating the boundaries of creative ambition and corporate control.

Market signals and momentum

Retail chatter sharpened as reports of Costco New Zealand clearing out Xbox stock at half price surfaced, prompting speculation on how club retailers respond to manufacturer pricing. In parallel, the newly posted Deus Ex Remastered announce trailer sparked debate about the value of remasters versus true remakes, while a fresh look at Insomniac’s Wolverine slated for Fall 2026 fed blockbuster anticipation.

"Microsoft isn't killing XBOX. At least not yet. Costco and other club stores are likely delisting the SKUs after Microsoft announced October price increases, so they are selling through their remaining stock. Club retailers, particularly Costco, don't play ball when it comes to their pricing expectations from manufacturers." - u/spaceman62 (1310 points)

On the critical front, the community’s Hades II review thread tracked sky-high scores and GOTY chatter, reinforcing the year’s strong cadence of releases; meanwhile, Japan Game Awards crowning Metaphor: ReFantazio signposted genre breadth and regional influence across markets.

Aesthetics, heritage, and the edges of authorship

Players celebrated design craft from a moody L.A. Noire main menu to a hand-painted homage in a Red Dead Redemption 2 oil painting of its best mission, while the 28-year milestone for Ultima Online reminded the community of MMO roots that still shape today’s play patterns.

"For OD, I want to go around, all over the world where there are scary kind of places. I want to scan a ghost for the first time and I want to get an award for that." - u/n0b0dycar3s07 (760 points)

That appetite for boundary-pushing met real-world constraints as Kojima’s OD pursuit to scan ‘actual ghosts’ blurred lines between tech and myth, and The Pokémon Company’s clarification about unauthorized use of its theme in a DHS video underscored IP rights that frame how games and their music circulate in public discourse.

Every community has stories worth telling professionally. - Melvin Hanna

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