Asus has cracked the seal on value hikes simply forward of CES 2026. The electronics maker, which is chargeable for a variety of PC gaming {hardware} together with the already $1,000 ROG Xbox Ally X, warned companions of “strategic value changes” for sure merchandise beginning January 5.
The corporate didn’t specify which merchandise would get costlier or by how a lot, but it surely did blame the present AI arms race for the upwards stress on pricing. “These modifications mirror shifts in capability allocation by upstream suppliers, increased funding prices for superior manufacturing processes, and structural provide gaps created by rising AI compute demand,” government Liao Yi-Xiang wrote in a December 30 letter that was translated by Videocardz.
The corporate instantly factors to DRAM, NAND, and SSD part shortages as a part of the problem. The announcement comes simply days forward of the annual Shopper Electronics Present in Las Vegas the place Asus and different {hardware} producers will probably be revealing new {hardware} updates and different tech merchandise.
Gaming shortages, value hikes, and next-gen console delays
Asus’ warning is the primary exhausting proof that 2026 will proceed to see gaming get costlier throughout the spectrum as main tech corporations pivot to supplying ever-increasing calls for for generative AI compute capability. There have been rumors all through the top of 2025 that AMD and different firms have been going to face shortages, with some {hardware} insiders claiming that Microsoft’s Xbox could be among the many hardest hit because of poor stock administration.
Based on Insider Gaming, the issue has gotten so dangerous that some {hardware} producers are already discussing potential delays to next-gen {hardware} launches just like the PlayStation 6 and new Xbox. “The state of affairs has led console producers to debate whether or not the following technology of consoles must be delayed from their meant 2027-2028 launch window, with the hope that RAM producers will be capable to construct out their infrastructure to supply extra RAM, thereby permitting costs to drop,” it reported last month.
Extra just lately, South Korea outlet Newsis reported that Nvidia and AMD are already taking a look at considerably growing GPU costs in 2026. Essentially the most eye-popping declare was that graphics playing cards just like the $2,000 RTX 5090 might greater than double in value to $5,000 by the top of the 12 months. However even a lot smaller value will increase of just some hundred {dollars} would make PC gaming’s present affordability disaster proceed to spiral uncontrolled.
Regardless of the short-term influence on pricing for gaming parts, the AI race has already remade firms like Microsoft and Nvidia, to the purpose the place their non-AI enterprise seems as a relative rounding error on the bigger enterprise’s P&L. With no full implosion of the gen AI market (by no means say by no means), it’s exhausting to see that altering any time quickly.
