Following Nintendo, both Sony and Microsoft have now argued in court that they are not obligated to provide refunds to consumers who paid more for a price-hiked PlayStation or Xbox console related to US President Donald Trump’s controversial tariff plan. The tariffs were deemed illegal, prompting companies to seek refunds. The companies getting those refunds are largely keeping them, though there have been some exceptions and outliers.
In July, Sony said it was projecting to get $508 million back in refunds from the US government over the tariffs, and „most“ of that money was owed to Sony’s gaming division. Sony is facing a lawsuit that claims Sony should disperse refunds, at least in part, to consumers who paid more for a PS5.
Sony’s legal team, however, says Sony will keep all the money and you’ll get nothing back.
„Paying fair market price for voluntarily purchased consumer goods is not a legally cognizable injury in fact,“ the lawyers said in a memo seeking to dismiss the class-action suit, as reported by Game File.
Microsoft’s own legal team took a similar approach, saying in court, „There is nothing unjust about plaintiff purchasing an Xbox at an advertised price and getting exactly what [they] paid for…“
Sony’s argument in court added that the class-action lawsuit brought by gamers does not provide evidence that tariffs were to blame for the PS5 price hike implemented in August 2025, calling the claim „speculative and illogical.“ In announcing the price hike, Sony said it was raising PS5 prices in response to a „challenging economic environment,“ but not mentioning tariffs specifically.
Sony’s legal team said things like „inflation, currency fluctuations, component costs, logistics, competitive dynamics, or demand“ could have also contributed to the PS5 price hike. Indeed, beyond tariffs alone, the AI-fueled demand for components and memory–the same equipment needed to make PS5 consoles–has led to shortages and increased costs for Sony and others in the market.
Sony went on to cite its own additional PS5 price hike in March 2026–following the Supreme Court deeming the tariffs illegal–as proof that the hikes are not attributable to tariffs.
„If tariffs were the cause of the price increases, one would expect SIE to lower prices once the tariffs were eliminated–not raise them again. Instead, the timeline confirms that the pricing of PlayStation consoles includes a diverse and dynamic set of input costs,“ Sony’s lawyers said.
Microsoft took a similar stance, saying the class-action suit fails to provide „pricing differential attributable to tariffs…“
For Sony, its refusal to provide tariff refunds to players is just the latest public relations issue the company is facing. The company also announced plans to end support for physical PlayStation game discs in 2028, and a lot of people dislike that decision.
Not every gaming company is taking such a hard line on this topic. Panic, the company behind the Playdate gaming handheld, said it will pass its own refunds on to customers who paid more. People should get about $12 back.
“It’s just not our money to keep, and it felt really good to give it back,” Panic’s Cabel Sasser told Game Developer. “That’s an easy way to know you made the right decision.”
Many companies received major tariff refunds, and they are handling refunds differently. For example, Wamart and Home Depot have said they will use the cash infusion to lower prices on a variety of products, but not directly refund anyone..
“At the end of the day, a product is worth what somebody’s willing to pay for it, and there is a lot of choice in this marketplace,” Bryan Eshelman, a managing director at consulting firm AlixPartners, told CNBC.
This may be true, and Sony may have no legal obligation to pass along refunds to consumers, but that doesn’t mean it’s sitting well with everyone. People are loudly voicing their opinions on social media, with many posting the Jeremy Irons quote from the movie Margin Call where his character says, „We are selling to willing buyers at the current fair market price.“
The latest gaming-related price hike came from Nintendo, which increased the price of the Switch 2 from $450 to $500 on September 1. Historically, console prices came down over time, but the world is different today.