GameStop plans to raise preowned PS5 Pro prices to $1,399.99 for digital units and $1,499.99 for physical models as demand grows ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI.
GameStop is preparing to sell used PS5 Pro consoles for more than new ones. Preowned digital units are set to reach $1,399.99, while physical models will cost $1,499.99. The increase comes as availability tightens and demand builds ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is scheduled for 19 November 2026.
Used prices surge
An internal GameStop memo reported by an employee says the preowned PS5 Pro price change was scheduled to begin on 10/6. Stores were told to complete the changes before opening. The notice made clear that the higher price was intentional, not a temporary pricing error.
There is a discrepancy over the implementation date. One account of the internal notice identifies 6 October 2026. Another cites 16 October 2026.
The digital white PS5 Pro is listed at $1,399.99 with an $800 trade value. Physical white units and the 30th Ann versions are listed at $1,499.99 with an $850 trade value. The same prices apply to the Wolverine-themed physical and digital models named in the memo.
GameStop's Product Replacement Plan will not be available immediately after the change. The memo says the company plans to restore eligibility as soon as possible. A separate report also says that protection or replacement plans were temporarily unavailable for the affected preowned consoles.
The price appeared on GameStop's website. TweakTown reported that a used PS5 Pro Digital was shown at $1,399.99, while the new PS5 Pro was listed at $899.99. That is a $500 difference. The used console was unavailable for online purchase when checked, so the listing confirms the advertised price but not completed sales at that level. GameStop Pro members were shown a preowned price of $1,329.99.
GTA VI demand
The reason is simple. Grand Theft Auto VI is close enough to launch to draw less frequent console buyers toward the hardware best positioned to showcase it, according to the supplied reporting. That demand is arriving while brand-new PS5 Pro stock is described as difficult to find.
GameStop is following a market that has already moved. Used PS5 Pro consoles are reportedly reaching similar prices on eBay. The retailer's new figures appear intended to match that resale level rather than offer the usual discount for second-hand hardware.
The wider GTA VI story was covered in an earlier release report. It recorded the game's 19 November 2026 date for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Rockstar Games' official game page lists those platforms and the same release date. A PC version had not been announced at the time of the supplied reporting.
That date gives buyers a fixed deadline. It also makes the current hardware shortage more commercially potent.
Rockstar updated the game's website and its PlayStation and Xbox store pages on 1 October 2026. The ESRB Rating Pending label was replaced with a completed ESRB Mature 17+ classification. The change came roughly seven weeks before launch and suggests that the release campaign is moving into its final stretch.
A console that keeps rising
The PS5 Pro launched in the United States in November 2024 at $699. It arrived without a disc drive. Its launch price was already well above the PS4 Pro's $399 price in 2016.
The gap has widened through two separate price rises.
Sony increased the price of every PS5 model in the United States by $50 on 21 August 2025, taking the Pro to $749.99. The company cited a difficult economic environment and indicated that US tariffs were a factor.
On 2 April 2026, a second worldwide increase lifted the PS5 Pro by $150 to $899. Sony attributed the change to higher component costs. The reported current US recommended price is $899.99.
Memory prices were central to that second increase. The supplied reporting says RAM prices had risen by more than 170 per cent year on year as manufacturers prioritised demand from AI data centres. Ampere Analysis also suggested that Sony had been protected by fixed-price component agreements. Those agreements later expired, leaving the company more exposed to the market.
The buyer calculation
The arithmetic is harsh. A preowned PS5 Pro Digital at $1,399.99 costs exactly twice the console's 2024 launch price. It is also $500 more than the current new price cited in the report.
A physical preowned unit reaches $1,499.99, while its trade value is $850.
That does not make the used hardware intrinsically more valuable. It shows what happens when a major release concentrates demand on a premium device and retail supply tightens. Buyers seeking a PS5 Pro for Grand Theft Auto VI now face a choice: wait for stock to improve or pay a resale-driven premium at a retailer that normally relies on the appeal of second-hand pricing.
There is no evidence here that GameStop's pricing reflects a permanent change in the console's underlying value. It is a response to scarcity and near-term demand.
The result is still damaging for players. A product that launched at $699 is now being treated as a $1,399 used purchase before its most anticipated software test has even arrived.
Used-market pricing is not the same as hardware performance. It measures what buyers will pay when supply is constrained. It does not show how many frames the console delivers or how much sharper its output looks.
In this case, the numbers point to an affordability problem around a flagship console. Grand Theft Auto VI may be driving the rush, but the PS5 Pro's price history has already made the premium unusually difficult to justify.
