Loki Nitro

The Low-Key Found Quickly

Gaming’s About to Get More Expensive, Thanks to Trump’s New Tariffs

Nobody wants to hear this, but your gaming habit’s probably gonna cost more soon. Trump just started talking about slapping a 25% tariff on Mexican imports starting February, and guess where a bunch of our game discs get made? Yep, Mexico.

Mat Piscatella from Circana thinks we’re about to see way fewer physical games hitting shelves. Makes sense – if companies have to pay 25% more to make discs in Mexico, they might just say screw it and go all digital.

Alright, well, video games. With 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico on the way, I can see a sharp downtick in the number of disc-based games that get released physically in the US, as much of that production infrastructure is in Mexico. If they do get made, I expect higher prices both phys & dig.

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) Jan 21, 2025 at 9:38 AM

Here’s the kicker though – digital prices will probably go up too. Publishers like keeping digital and physical prices the same, so if physical costs more to make, everything gets more expensive. And before you ask – no, companies probably aren’t going to move production to the United States. Physical game sales are already half what they were in 2021 and dropping fast, and nobody’s building new factories here for a shrinking market.

Oh, and just to make everything more fun, Trump’s also talking about a 60% tariff on Chinese goods. That’s… pretty much everything else in gaming. Consoles, accessories, you name it. Though most people are saying that one’s probably not gonna happen. Too crazy even for Trump.

The real gut punch? The industry was already looking for an excuse to raise prices again. They got away with bumping games up to $70 USD, and now everyone’s speculating GTA 6 will push it even higher. Add these tariffs on top, and your wallet’s in for a rough 2025.

Guess it’s time to start saving up or stick to Game Pass.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *