AMD RDNA 5 Could Slip to 2028 Amid AI Chip Boom

AMD’s RDNA 5 gaming GPUs may not arrive until late 2027 or early 2028, according to Computex 2026 feedback from board partners reported by Tweakers. The estimates suggest a major slowdown in AMD’s graphics roadmap, with a possible three-year gap after the RDNA 4-based Radeon RX 9070 series launched in spring 2025.

The Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT launched in 2025, with a GIGABYTE Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming OC 16G currently listed on Amazon at INR 62,072 (~$652 USD) after discount. However, AMD has not announced any RDNA 5 gaming GPUs for desktop or laptop use. At Computex in Taiwan, multiple board partners gave different timelines for the next generation.

One group expects early RDNA 5 shipments in the second quarter (Q2) or Q3 of 2027. Others say that it is optimistic and point to late 2027 or even early 2028 as more realistic. This would extend the usual upgrade cycle significantly beyond the traditional two-year cadence.

AI Chip Demand is Reshaping GPU Priorities

Manufacturers are increasingly allocating production toward artificial intelligence (AI) and server chips due to strong demand from companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic. These products offer higher margins, leading to reduced emphasis on consumer gaming GPUs.

However, limited semiconductor and DRAM capacity have intensified this shift.

The GPU refresh cycle, once typically around two years, is now stretching to 2.5 to 3 years. Nvidia is also expected to delay its next-generation GPUs to the second half of 2027. A DRAM supply crunch in late 2025 further disrupted pricing across RAM, SSDs, and graphics cards. Nvidia reportedly canceled its RTX 5000 Super refresh, although later reports suggest RTX 5000 Super models could still arrive in 2026 in a more limited form.

With RDNA 5 potentially arriving years after RDNA 4, AMD’s roadmap reflects a broader industry shift toward AI infrastructure rather than consumer gaming hardware. As a result, gamers could face longer upgrade cycles between graphics card generations.

Disclaimer: Sources used have been machine-translated from Dutch.