Global Gamers Brace for Rising Hardware Costs
AMD has officially confirmed that it will increase the prices of its graphics cards by at least 10 percent at the start of 2026, marking another turning point in a year already defined by rising hardware costs. The update comes after weeks of strong industry rumors and has now been validated through partner channels, following an analysis shared by Dan Nystedt referencing internal insights from UDN in Taiwan. This adjustment represents the second major price shift in recent months. AMD initially absorbed some of the cost to stabilize retail prices, but the new surge in DRAM memory expenses has forced the company to pass the increase directly to board partners and consumers. Memory modules have climbed more than 200 percent per unit in late 2025, setting the stage for an industry wide ripple effect.
The ongoing GPU pricing debate has hovered over the gaming community for years. Newer hardware generations continue pushing manufacturing costs upward, while past shortages triggered by crypto mining created a turbulent market that slowed recovery efforts. The 2025 landscape mirrors this pattern, but with a different root cause. Instead of sudden demand spikes, the market is now being squeezed by deliberate shifts in supply decisions. Both AMD and Nvidia have redirected significant production capacity toward the booming AI sector, which has rapidly consumed GPU inventory and related components, leaving gamers to navigate a shrinking pool of available products.
Worldwide data centers have accelerated this trend by collecting GPUs, CPUs, memory, and storage in massive quantities to support AI workloads. Component prices for nearly every major part continue climbing. GDDR6 memory used in the Radeon RX 9000 Series rose between 28 and 33 percent during the third quarter of 2025 and later surged past the 200 percent mark. PowerColor previously issued warnings about inflationary pressures, and AMD has now confirmed that partners will need to raise prices by a minimum of 10 percent. Analysts believe the final pricing for certain GPU models could surpass that threshold, depending on the amount of memory installed in each card.
The timing of this adjustment places AMD in a challenging position. Throughout 2025, the company struggled to keep the RX 9070 XT near its original MSRP of 599 USD. It only returned to that level during Black Friday through promotional offers from PowerColor Reaper and ASRock Challenger. These deals are unlikely to remain available for long, especially as the card stands as one of the most cost effective options for 4K 60fps performance. Gamers planning an upgrade may find that acting before year end is their best chance to avoid elevated prices.
Nvidia, AMD’s primary competitor, faces similar obstacles. Reports indicate that the highly anticipated RTX 50 Super lineup has been delayed due to a severe shortage of 3GB GDDR7 modules. The launch window may slip to the third quarter of 2026 rather than debuting during CES 2026. Although Nvidia’s revenue from data center products remains strong, the possibility of lower prices for gaming focused GPUs continues to weaken. Both companies are funneling resources into the more profitable AI sector, leaving gamers with fewer budget friendly options for the foreseeable future.
Players searching for a new graphics card may be better served by purchasing before the transition into 2026. Models like the RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 Ti remain among the best choices for performance per dollar and could become significantly more expensive once the price adjustments take effect. With Black Friday deals still lingering and inventory expected to tighten further, now is a critical moment for consumers looking to upgrade before the next wave of increases and hardware shortages arrives.
THIS IS OUR SAY
AMD’s decision to implement another price increase underlines a reality that gamers have been feeling for years. The market has shifted toward AI and enterprise solutions, leaving gaming hardware to chase shrinking supply while facing rising demand. With memory prices still climbing and launch delays spreading across the industry, 2026 may become another challenging chapter for players seeking high performance upgrades. The smart move is to secure a card now before the next wave of price jumps impacts the entire market.
Reference; Tomshardware
