Dynamic pricing is creeping into video games as Sony experiments on PS5

Sony seems to be testing out dynamic pricing for games on the PlayStation Store, as Amazon US hikes up the cost of Pokémon Pokopia just because physical copies are scarce.

Dynamic pricing has been a blight on society for some time, especially in the travel industry and on sites like Ticketmaster, and there are now signs of it worming its way into the games industry.

If you’re unfamiliar, dynamic pricing is the idea that companies can change prices based on demand, supply, a person’s purchase history, location, and other factors. This means some people might be advertised a different price for the same product due to reasons beyond their control.

According to tracking website PSprices, Sony has been running tests on prices on the PlayStation Store since November 2025, which has gradually expanded to over 150 games in 68 regions.

It’s claimed PlayStation users are ‘randomly placed in control or test groups’ within these regions to test the elasticity of demand. It’s unclear if the UK is affected specifically, but it’s said to have rolled out across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

According to the site, the only territories which aren’t impacted yet are the US and Japan, with ‘stricter regulation’ cited as a possible reason why. Although they’re also Sony’s two biggest single markets.

Games like God Of War Ragnarök, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Astro Bot, and others from Sony’s first party slate are all apparently included in the ‘IPT_PILOT’ experiment, along with third party titles from the likes of 2K Games, Deep Silver, Bethesda, and Rockstar.

Based on the site’s findings, PlayStation Store users have been seeing varying personalised discounts across these titles. These price drops are said to range from 5% to 17.6%, so it’s a significant difference.

While you might view a discount as a win regardless of how much, it’s a slippery slope which could easily extend to unfairness across the entirety of the PlayStation Store. GameCentral has reached out to Sony for comment.

This brand of dynamic pricing might only be applicable to digital games, but online retailers like Amazon have been doing it for physical games too. After allowing for some minor price fluctuations for Resident Evil Requiem, the price of Pokémon Pokopia in the US has increased by $10 to $79.99 as physical copies sell out worldwide.

There is no sign of a price increase on Amazon UK, but The Game Business editor Christopher Dring claimed Pokémon Pokopia was ‘seriously undersupplied at UK retail’, adding: ‘Its launch physical sales are not even half of what [Pokémon Legends: Z-A] did.’

This lack of supply suggests Nintendo underestimated the title’s appeal, or it didn’t expect the physical version to be so popular because it’s a Game-Key Card, which have been negatively received by some.

Pokopia is a relatively unique case, in that it wasn’t expected to be a major hit but suddenly saw increased interest after unexpectedly positive reviews. However, it’s a disturbing coincidence that prices are going up at the same time as Sony experiments with digital prices.

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