AMD's CES 2025 keynote announced, 'next generation of gaming' to be unveiled

AMD's SVP and GM of Computing and Graphics, Jack Huynh, has announced that the company's big CES 2025 press event and keynote will take place on Monday, January 6, at 11 a.m. PT. The event will run for 45 minutes, and AMD will unveil its "next generation of innovation across gaming, AI PC, and commercial."

Gaming before AI? Yes, it sounds like the company's upcoming RDNA 4 graphics cards, the mid-range Radeon RX 8800 XT and the Radeon RX 8700 XT, will be a big focus at the event. Jack Huynh teases "incredible special guests" while adding, "You won't want to miss it!" Based on previous Radeon-focused keynotes, we fully expect to see live or recorded game demos alongside performance benchmarks and new features. Hopefully, AMD's rumored AI-powered FSR 4 will be ready to show.

For those keeping track, AMD's CES event will happen before NVIDIA's evening GeForce RTX 50 reveal. AMD hasn't teased any specific products for CES 2025, but the sheer number of leaks and rumors we've seen all but make RDNA 4 a certainty. The company is also expected to unveil its next-gen Strix Halo and Kracken Point APUs, which will be gaming powerhouses in their own right.

Keeping things focused on RDNA 4, we know that AMD is foregoing high-end enthusiast-class GPUs for its next generation of Radeon desktop cards and will instead focus on the mid-range market currently dominated by cards like the GeForce RTX 4070, RTX 4070 SUPER, and Radeon RX 7800 XT.

The recent leaks for the Radeon RX 8800 XT point to it outclassing the current flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX regarding ray-tracing performance - up to 45% in games like Resident Evil 4. This is an impressive result, but it's worth remembering that Capcom's RT in Resident Evil is straightforward compared to the RT in, say, Cyberpunk 2077 or Alan Wake 2.

Still, with RDNA 4 set to be more efficient than RDNA 3 and mid-range performance on par with Team Red's current RDNA 3 flagship GPUs (overall, it reportedly sits somewhere between the Radeon RX 7900 XT and the Radeon RX 7900 XTX), it could potentially shake up the mid-range $500-$600 market for PC gaming and put the pressure on NVIDIA to deliver with the upcoming GeForce RTX 5070.

• Read more: AMD's next-gen RDNA 4 Radeon graphics will feature 'brand-new' ray-tracing hardware
• Read more: AMD Radeon RX 8800 XT rumor: flagship RDNA 4 GPU is 45% faster in RT gaming than 7900 XTX
• Read more: AMD to have 'full unveiling' of RDNA 4 at CES 2025, at least one new Radeon GPU in late January
• Read more: Sony confirms PS5 Pro ray-tracing comes from AMD's next-gen RDNA 4 Radeon hardware