During TGS this year Microsoft's Japan-based comms team did a cheeky thing. While Sony was fending off journalists, pundits and a raucous online community for, against and indifferent to the company (alongside sentiment) -- in the wake of its price hike for the PS5 -- it announced a 'cash-back' offer on all Xbox purchases, which also came in the wake of Microsoft officially stating it wouldn't change its pricing model... for now.

The cash-back offer was for ¥5000 (about $50 at the moment in Australia) and in the form of a gift card. But it wasn't that it was helping punters out, it was a quiet 'sticking it to' moment in an ever-escalating console war that has gone to new heights since Microsoft began throwing its cash around and snapping up developers.

Now, however, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has conceded that the price of Xbox and its related businesses such as Game Pass won't hold fast forever.

"I think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things," he said to The Verge's Tom Warren (via VGC). "We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games … and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things."

In the wake of these comments nothing has changed from a pricing perspective for Microsoft, but with inflation not expected to subside any time soon, maybe now is the best time to jump on the console before those prices do inevitably go up.