- In a new survey, 60% of gamers said they will wait for two or more years to build a PC.
- Only 25% of players want to assemble a gaming rig within the next year.
- Rising component prices and the memory shortage are the primary causes of this.
There isn’t any industry on the planet that hasn’t been hit by the memory crisis. However, gaming has arguably suffered the most, with rising component prices curtailing the purchasing power of consumers to an extent never seen before.
Even the biggest companies in the industry, like Sony and Nintendo, have been forced to increase prices and face declining sales. With memory makers predicting that shortages will last until 2028, building a gaming rig isn’t anyone’s priority at the moment, and a new survey reflects this trend.
Why it matters: With consumers not looking to upgrade due to the exorbitant prices of PC parts, the gaming industry could crash like never before.
According to a survey conducted by Tom’s Hardware, 60% of gamers have no plans to build a new PC in the next two years due to high component prices. Over half of the 1,500 participants stated that they are going to wait two or more years to build their next gaming rig.
As per the survey, only 25% of players are willing to assemble a PC within the next 12 months, with just 15% looking to build one by December this year. The anticipation of building a high-end PC winds down further as the timeframe shortens, with just 4% of players considering investing in a PC in the next 3 months.
When you consider the current cost of memory components, this ratio makes sense. SSD prices alone increased by 147% in Q1 2026, with an 8TB stick now being worth a whopping $3,000. There was a glimmer of hope when the cost of DDR5 RAM fell earlier this year. But, soon afterwards, Samsung again hiked prices by 30% in April.
With Phison’s CEO predicting that the memory crisis could last a decade, gamers might have to wait even longer than two years before they can build a new PC.
Do you think memory shortages will end by 2028? Are you building a PC in the next 12 months? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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