AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Tom’s Hardware, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

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GameStop has raised the price of refurbished PS5 Pro consoles from $800 to $1,399.99. This increase means used units now cost 55% more than the list price for brand-new consoles and well over double the original manufacturer’s suggested retail price. A Redditor working at the retailer leaked a memo stating that selling used consoles at this premium is intentional. A moderator on the r/GameStop subreddit confirmed the leak was valid after vetting the original poster. These higher prices are now visible on the GameStop website.

Brand-new PS5 Pro units have an MSRP of $899.00, which rose from $749.99 earlier this year due to chip shortages. While Sony generally allows retailers more freedom in pricing pre-owned devices than new ones, there is a shortage of new PS5 Pros across several stores. Sony, GameStop, and Target are currently out of stock, though Best Buy and Walmart list them at $1,496.01 and $1,554.99 respectively. On platforms like eBay and Facebook Marketplace, sealed units often cost around $1,300 or more, but buyers miss out on retailer protections.

The shortage is largely blamed on an AI-driven memory chip crisis. Data centers have demanded high-speed HBM chips, causing manufacturers to shift capacity away from consumer goods. This has led to a 500% increase in RAM prices over the past year, affecting smartphones and automotive manufacturing as well. The situation may be worsened by the anticipated launch of GTA VI in November, which started pre-selling in June 2026. Gamers are willing to pay high prices to ensure top performance for the game.

Buyers with limited funds face difficult choices. While basic PS5 Digital and Disc editions remain near their MSRP, those seeking a PS5 Pro might consider an Xbox Series X, which is cheaper at MSRP yet offers better performance than the base PS5 model. Alternatively, some users are experimenting with open-source software called AnyPS5 to run PS5 games natively on PC.