Okay, so we need to talk about what Nvidia's apparently planning to do, because if these reports are accurate, the GPU market is about to get messy.
According to industry sources like Board Channels and DigiTimes, Nvidia's planning to slash GeForce production by 30-40% in early 2026. That's not a small tweak. That's a massive cut that'll directly affect what GPUs you can actually buy and how much you'll pay for them.
If you've been waiting for GPU prices to come down, this isn't the news you wanted to hear.
Why Would Nvidia Do This?
The simple answer: memory shortages. Not just GDDR7, but memory in general. The whole industry is dealing with supply issues right now, and you can't make GPUs without memory chips.
But there's also the business side. Nvidia's making insane money from AI chips right now. When you've got companies lining up to buy $25,000-40,000 AI accelerators, and memory supply is tight, you're obviously going to prioritize those products. It's just business.
Here's something interesting though—the reports don't mention cuts to RTX PRO workstation cards. So Nvidia might be protecting professional products while cutting consumer gaming cards. That tells you where their priorities are.
The Memory Problem Is Real
GDDR7 production ramped up through 2024-2025, but it's still not meeting demand. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are all stretched thin making memory for everything—AI chips, regular DDR5, graphics cards. There's just not enough to go around.
Board Channels is saying that Nvidia's partners (companies like ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte) have already been told that some SKUs will see cuts as steep as 40% starting Q1 2026.
There's also talk that Nvidia expects weaker GPU demand in 2026 anyway because component costs are going up across the board. If fewer people are buying GPUs, why make as many?
The truth is probably a mix of all these things: memory shortages, AI prioritization, and demand expectations.
What This Means for Gamers
Let's be realistic about what could happen.
Mid-range cards might get scarce and expensive. If production drops 30-40%, basic economics kicks in. Fewer cards available plus same demand equals higher prices. We've seen this before during crypto mining booms and the pandemic.
Right now, supply is actually pretty good. As of late 2025, there are plenty of RTX 5050, 5060, and 5070 cards available. The production cuts are scheduled for early 2026, so we might not see immediate problems.
But if cuts happen and supply gets tight, retailers will raise prices. Scalpers will show up. That $500 card becomes $650-700 real quick.
The "sweet spot" is shifting. Historically, the best value in PC gaming has been mid-range GPUs. Cards like the GTX 1060, RTX 2060, RTX 3060 Ti—they weren't the fastest, but they offered the best bang for your buck.
If Nvidia scales back mid-range production permanently, that sweet spot moves up in price. Maybe "affordable gaming" becomes $600-800 instead of $400-500.
From a business perspective it makes sense. Why make a bunch of $400 cards when you can make fewer $1,000 cards with better margins? But for us, it means entry-level gaming is getting more expensive.
Gaming Isn't Nvidia's Main Business Anymore
Look at their Q3 fiscal 2025 numbers:
- Data Center: $30.8 billion (88% of total revenue)
- Gaming: $3.3 billion (9% of total revenue)
Gaming is less than 10% of Nvidia's business now. A decade ago it was over half.
A single H100 AI chip sells for $25,000-40,000. Nvidia sells thousands of them to Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta, OpenAI—customers who don't haggle on price and place massive guaranteed orders.
Meanwhile gamers complain about $1,200 price tags, argue over VRAM amounts, and comparison-shop against AMD and Intel.
From Nvidia's perspective, enterprise customers are way easier and more profitable to serve. So when they have to choose where to allocate limited resources, data center wins every time.
This might be the new normal. What worries me is that this might not be temporary. If Nvidia finds that focusing on high-end gaming and data center is more profitable than serving mid-range, why would they go back?
We could be looking at a future where your GPU options are budget cards under $300 that barely run modern games, high-end cards over $1,000 that most people can't afford, and not much in between.
Can AMD and Intel Save the Day?
So if Nvidia's pulling back, what about AMD and Intel?
AMD's already here with RX 9000 series. There is no AMD RX 8000 desktop series by the way—AMD skipped that number entirely. Their RDNA 4 desktop cards are called the RX 9000 series and launched on March 6, 2025:
- RX 9070 XT: $599, 16GB GDDR6
- RX 9070: $549, 16GB GDDR6
Both use GDDR6, not GDDR7. AMD sidestepped the GDDR7 shortage by sticking with older memory tech. Smart move actually—means they can probably make more cards.
These target the mid-range, competing against Nvidia's RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti. Early reviews say they're solid cards with good rasterization performance, though ray tracing still lags behind Nvidia.
This is a huge opportunity for AMD. If they keep supply steady at good prices, they could actually grab meaningful market share.
But AMD has challenges too. Even when AMD offers better value, Nvidia outsells them. Breaking through that "Nvidia equals gaming GPU" perception is really hard. Plus DLSS is still better than FSR in most games, and ray tracing performance lags.
Also, AMD wants a piece of the AI market too. Their Instinct MI300 series competes with Nvidia's data center chips. If AI demand stays hot, AMD faces the same resource allocation questions.
Still, this is AMD's best shot in years.
Intel Arc is already available too. Intel Battlemage isn't "reportedly launching"—it already launched:
- Intel Arc B580: Launched December 13, 2024 at $249
- Intel Arc B570: Launched January 16, 2025 at $219
These are on store shelves now, and reviews have been surprisingly positive. The B580 especially has been praised for solid 1080p and decent 1440p performance at $249.
Intel's advantages: they're hungry for market share and will price aggressively. They're not torn between gaming and AI chips yet. And the B580 at $249 and B570 at $219 are genuinely competitive budget options.
Intel's challenges: drivers are way better than launch but still not at Nvidia/AMD levels. Some older games still have issues. And convincing gamers that Intel makes good GPUs is tough when most see them as "the CPU company."
But here's the problem: even if AMD and Intel deliver great cards, they're fighting the same supply constraints as Nvidia. Memory production is limited. TSMC's advanced nodes are under massive demand. Everyone needs the same components.
And if Nvidia's cuts create scarcity and drive prices up, AMD and Intel have no incentive to undercut aggressively. Why sell for $400 when market conditions let you charge $500 and still sell out?
When Does This Get Better?
Short answer: maybe not for a while.
Short term (2025-2026): Nvidia's production cuts hit Q1 2026, memory stays constrained, and prices might rise if scarcity hits. But current supply is still okay, and AMD and Intel provide some options.
Medium term (2027-2028): New memory fabs might come online and ease supply a bit. If AI demand moderates at all, some capacity could shift back to consumer products. AMD's next-gen and Intel's future Arc cards might offer more competition.
Long term (2028+)? Who knows. It depends on AI demand, geopolitics around Taiwan, whether new competitors enter the market, and whether cloud gaming actually becomes viable.
My guess is the mid-range GPU as we knew it has changed. The days of getting a great 1440p card for $400-500 might be over. The new "mid-range" could be $600-800.
What You Can Actually Do
Current supply is still decent. RTX 40-series, AMD RX 7000, and Intel Arc cards are all available. If you see a deal on a card that meets your needs, consider grabbing it. Waiting for the "perfect deal" could mean paying more later.
But don't panic-buy either. Supply isn't terrible yet.
Consider AMD and Intel seriously. The AMD RX 9070 XT at $599 with 16GB is a solid 1440p card. The Intel Arc B580 at $249 is impressive for budget gaming. By buying AMD or Intel, you're showing there's demand for reasonably priced cards.
The used market becomes more attractive if new prices rise. Used RTX 3060 Ti, 3070, RX 6700 XT cards still offer great performance and there's decent supply.
And sure, "vote with your wallet" if you want. But be realistic—Nvidia doesn't care that much about consumer gaming anymore. They're making billions from data centers. If enthusiasts boycott GeForce, it barely dents their bottom line.
Bottom Line
Nvidia's cutting production, probably due to memory shortages, AI prioritization, and demand expectations. This could make mid-range GPUs scarcer and more expensive in 2026.
AMD launched the RX 9070 series in March 2025. Intel Arc Battlemage launched in late 2024/early 2025. Both provide alternatives.
Current supply is okay. But if Nvidia's cuts create real scarcity, prices could spike.
The GPU market is changing. The "affordable high-performance" tier is getting more expensive. Nvidia's priority is data centers now—gaming is 9% of their revenue, AI is 88%.
We're not being screwed. We're being deprioritized because there's bigger money elsewhere. It sucks, but that's business.
Your move is to decide what you're willing to pay and which companies you want to support. Whether AMD and Intel can fill the gap Nvidia's leaving is the question we'll answer over the next year.
Welcome to the new GPU market. It's more expensive, more complicated, and being shaped by AI demand more than gaming demand.
Plan accordingly.