Storage shortage pushes towards NVIDIA? Industry insiders reveal new gaming graphics cards will be delayed across the board for the first time in 30 years, marking a "break in updates."

Although originally known for gaming graphics cards, NVIDIA may face a situation for the first time in thirty years: failing to release any new gaming graphics cards within a calendar year.

Many gamers were already disappointed last month at CES 2026 when NVIDIA did not showcase or tease the RTX 50 Super series. Now, according to industry media The Information, NVIDIA is likely planning not to launch any new gaming graphics cards in 2026.

Reports indicate that NVIDIA has completed the design of the RTX 50 Super series graphics cards, but current shortages of memory chips have forced the company to lower the production priority of these products.

The company is currently prioritizing the supply of storage for its AI chips. As global tech giants’ insatiable demand for AI computing power grows, the capacity for high-end storage chips has been fully booked. This has led to the memory modules used in consumer graphics cards being gradually marginalized in the supply chain.

It is also reported that this predicament could even affect the next-generation RTX 60 series—originally scheduled to begin mass production by the end of 2027.

An insider stated that due to the shortage of storage chips, NVIDIA is also significantly reducing the production of its current flagship gaming graphics cards—the GeForce RTX 50 series.

Over the past year, due to supply shortages, the prices of some high-end NVIDIA gaming graphics cards in major retail stores and e-commerce platforms have generally increased.

For example, the highest-end GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card currently listed on a Korean e-commerce platform has surged to over 7 million Korean won last month (approximately 34,000 RMB). Notably, a year ago, this card was priced around $2,400 (about 17,000 RMB).

NVIDIA has not directly responded to the rumors of delays but stated: “Demand for GeForce RTX graphics cards remains strong, while storage supply is limited. We continue to ship all GeForce models and are working closely with suppliers to maximize memory supply.”

Of course, sources also indicate that if market conditions improve, NVIDIA may still change its decision and release new gaming chips—after all, the company is known for its flexible operations.

The storage chips used in gaming and AI chips are different, but their core suppliers remain limited to a few companies—Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology. These manufacturers currently find it difficult to quickly increase capacity, as building new chip factories often takes several years.

In addition to objective hardware shortages, changes in the market competition landscape are also influencing NVIDIA’s decisions. Industry analysts point out that main competitor AMD also lacks plans to launch threatening new consumer GPUs in 2026. Without strong “pursuers” in the high-end gaming graphics market, NVIDIA’s existing RTX 50 series products are sufficient to maintain a long-term monopoly, making the company more “composed” in delaying new releases.

For hundreds of millions of gamers worldwide, 2026 may become the most uneventful—and yet most expensive—“vacuum period” in hardware upgrade history.

(Source: Cailian Press)