Gamers Beware: NVIDIA and AMD Set to Hike GPU Prices in Early 2026

Building a high-end gaming PC is about to become a significantly more expensive endeavor, with reliable reports indicating that chip giants Nvidia and AMD are preparing to implement major price hikes for their graphics processing units (GPUs) starting early 2026. According to a new report from South Korean outlet Newsis, both manufacturers are planning a phased price adjustment strategy that could see the cost of flagship cards skyrocket. This move comes as a severe blow to PC enthusiasts who have already weathered years of rising costs, marking 2025 as the year the dam finally broke on gaming affordability.

The primary driver behind this sudden surge in pricing is a severe shortage of memory components, specifically DRAM and GDDR chips, which are essential for modern graphics cards. The manufacturing cost of memory has reportedly ballooned to the point where it now accounts for nearly 80% of the total production cost of a GPU. 

This scarcity is largely attributed to the booming artificial intelligence (AI) sector, where data centers and tech giants like OpenAI and Microsoft are aggressively acquiring memory supplies. As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently noted, the next generation of AI will require "100 times more compute," than older models, fueling a massive hardware scramble that leaves fewer resources for the consumer gaming market.

AI Boom Drives Major Price Hikes for Flagship Cards

Financial forecasts paint a grim picture for enthusiasts seeking top-tier performance. The report claims that Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 5090, which launched with an already steep MSRP of around $1,999, could potentially see its street price climb to as high as $5,000 by this year. This potential price point would likely price out the vast majority of the gaming demographic. 

Similarly, AMD has reportedly informed partners of at least a 10% increase across its Radeon RX lineup, with early distributor bumps already visible on RX 9000 series cards. The price hikes are expected to begin as early as this month for AMD products, with Nvidia following suit in February.

This development is part of a broader, troubling trend in the gaming industry where the cost of the hobby has risen across the board. Over the past year, consumers have seen the arrival of $80 games, increased costs for consoles like the Switch 2, and a general spike in component prices, as reported by Eurogamer. 

The situation has deteriorated to the point where a PlayStation 5 is currently less expensive to purchase than 64GB of DDR5 RAM. Given that GPU supplies for AI data centers typically involve long-term contracts, this wave of price hikes will also be reflected in the data center sector at the beginning of 2026.

For consumers in regions like India, the situation is expected to be even more challenging. Local import duties and currency fluctuations may amplify these price hikes to even steeper levels. Experts are currently urging gamers and enthusiasts to make their purchases now before the first quarter of 2026 locks in these higher baselines. 

The "wait and see" approach that many builders rely on could end up costing them significantly more than buying current stock, as the industry grapples with the reality that generative AI's demand for power is making consumer gaming hardware a luxury commodity.