AI Is Fueling The First Gaming Price Hike Of 2026
Kotaku••technology
Key Points:
- Asus announced upcoming "strategic price adjustments" for certain products starting January 5, citing increased costs due to AI-driven demand and component shortages, particularly in DRAM, NAND, and SSD supplies.
- The price hikes come ahead of CES 2026, signaling that gaming hardware costs are expected to rise as manufacturers allocate resources to meet growing AI compute needs.
- Industry insiders report that shortages and rising prices may delay next-gen console launches like PlayStation 6 and the new Xbox, originally planned for 2027-2028.
- Nvidia and AMD are reportedly considering significant GPU price increases in 2026, with some models potentially more than doubling in cost, exacerbating the affordability challenges in PC gaming.
- These developments
