GameStop Fights PS5 Price Hike With New $50 Trade-In Credit

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Every version of the PlayStation 5 is now $50 more expensive in the U.S., but at least for now, a new deal at GameStop will cover the difference. The meme stock retailer announced it will start giving anyone who trades in their last-gen consoles an extra $50 in-store credit toward the purchase of a new PS5.

This deal applies to anyone trading in an old PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch. If you really want a PS5, it’s better than nothing. The all-digital edition, the cheapest Sony offers, is now $500 starting August 21. So instead of just getting $55 toward that from trading in a PS4, you’ll get $110. An Xbox One currently trades for about $45, so just $95 total. The Switch isn’t much better. You’ll only get $60 for it before the new bonus credit, even though Nintendo recently raised the price of a new one to $340.

Xbox Series X/S owners looking to move over to PlayStation will have it a little easier. A Series S, now sold new at $370, will still get you up to $176, while a Series X, sold for $600, will get you up to $300. I could see taking that. When it comes to the other consoles, the price difference is harder to swallow. GameStop also buries in the fine print that this bonus Trump tariff credit will only be active through August 23.

Is it better than nothing? Sure! But it still lowkey sucks in the worst way. This whole thing is basically GameStop saying, “Reckless trade policy has hiked the price of a PS5, so here’s a bonus credit for these already terrible trade-in values that you’ll have to give right back to us.” GameStop’s edgelord CEO Ryan Cohen, despite being Canadian, has been a big booster of Trump, even as the president rolled out the current tariff regime earlier this year. His Elon Musk-lite impression included using the sale of GameStop’s Canadian operation to dunk on DEI policies. He’s currently using GameStop to buy billions in Bitcoin.

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