The global gaming industry is heading into a memory crisis as surging chip prices threaten delays to next-generation consoles and force developers to rethink game design. Samsung's 16GB DDR5-5600 memory now sells for about $207 in early January 2026, up nearly sixfold from roughly $35 in December 2024, according to Korea's Danawa platform.
The shortage is caused by Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron shifting production toward high-bandwidth memory for AI accelerators instead of standard DRAM used in gaming hardware.
"In 2026, there's going to be issues around semiconductor supplies, and it's going to affect everyone," Samsung global marketing president Wonjin Lee said this week.
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