The rising cost of gaming just hit another level, and this time it’s PlayStation 5 storage that’s taking the hit. SanDisk has unveiled a new lineup of officially licensed PS5 SSDs with price tags that are dramatically higher than what players were paying just a year ago, underscoring how the memory shortage affecting the tech industry is now reaching consumers in a major way.
Under the new pricing, the SanDisk Optimus GX PRO 850P NVMe drive starts at $379.99 for the 1 TB model. The 2 TB version costs $759.99, while the 4 TB drive comes in at $1,499.99. The flagship 8 TB option carries a staggering $2,959.99 price tag, with SanDisk listing its full suggested retail price at an even higher $3,699.99.
The increases represent a massive jump from previous years. According to PCPartPicker data cited by Polygon, the same 8 TB SSD sold for $639.99 in 2025. Every storage option in the lineup has climbed by more than 100%, making even the entry-level upgrade cost roughly half the price of a PlayStation 5 console itself.
The latest price shock comes amid mounting pressure across Sony’s gaming ecosystem. In recent months, Sony raised the price of the PS5 hardware lineup for the second time in less than a year, increasing the standard disc edition by $100 and the PS5 Pro by $150. The company also announced higher prices for PlayStation Plus subscriptions, citing “market conditions” and “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.”
Those pressures have largely been tied to exploding memory prices. Demand from artificial intelligence companies and data centers has driven DDR5 memory costs higher, with manufacturers increasingly directing supply toward enterprise customers.
Sony has acknowledged the challenge. “We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” the company said when announcing its latest hardware increases.
The cost pressures have also sparked legal action. A class action lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges Sony benefited from a “substantial windfall” after tariff-related PS5 price increases remained in place even after those tariffs were struck down.
