Donald Trump’s new video game tariffs will “harm” sector, says industry group

5 February, 2025

Donald Trump in The White House, Feb 2025. video game tariffs

Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on video games will cause “significant harm” to the industry and “everyday Americans”, says one leading industry group.

Over the weekend, returning President Donald Trump signed an order that would impose tariffs on imports from a number of countries, including Canada, China and Mexico.

Yesterday (February 4) he agreed to delay the tariffs for both Canada and Mexico for 30 days but a 10 per cent tax on all imports from China has already started. Trump has also promised that additional taxes on products from the European union will “definitely happen” in the near future.

“The UK is way out of line [so] we’ll see … but the European Union is really out of line,” he added. “The UK is out of line, but I think that one can be worked out. But the European Union is an atrocity, what they’ve done.”

It would mean consoles and physical games would be more expensive in America, while developers would be more incentivised to embrace digital and cloud streaming options as well as rise prices across the board.

Following the news, industry group ESA (which represents several major video game companies including Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Epic Games, and Electronic Arts) released a statement, warning about the impact of these new tariffs.

“Video games are one of the most popular and beloved forms of entertainment for Americans of all ages,” started the statement (via IGN). “Tariffs on video game devices and related products would negatively impact hundreds of millions of Americans and would harm the industry’s significant contributions to the U.S. economy. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to find ways to sustain the economic growth supported by our sector.”

“With 25 per cent 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,” added industry expert Mat Piscattella. “If they do get made, I expect higher prices [for both digital and physical games]. Were this to happen, I would anticipate digital MSRPs to increase to remain at price parity with physical, but who knows. In any case, none of this is good for the physical video game market.”

Last year, both Xbox’s Game Pass and the Sony PlayStation+ service saw significant price hikes. There are also concerns that Grand Theft Auto 6 could cost up to $100 when it’s released later this year.

In other news, The Last Of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann has explained how season two of the hit HBO adaptation will differ from the video game.

The post Donald Trump’s new video game tariffs will “harm” sector, says industry group appeared first on NME.