RAM crisis is getting worse, Valve engineer warns

Extreme component shortages have driven up costs for games hardware, and this trend isn't expected to stop any time soon.

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Months of unnecessary tariffs (that are getting refunded anyway) and worsening RAM/storage shortages have significantly impacted the games market. Hardware adoption has stalled due to higher prices, catching companies like Valve off guard. Unfortunately, this has led to both gamers and manufacturers effectively being squeezed out of the mainstream, as Valve has learned by having to launch its Steam Machine console at an astronomical $1,049 price tag.

Valve has learned a lot in its quest to sell Steam Machines and proliferate its proprietary SteamOS platform. Perhaps the biggest lesson is about production and manufacturing, and Valve learned the sobering realities of the hardware market: memory-makers call the shots, and you can either agree to inflated prices or miss your contract altogether. So Valve signed a deal, knowing it would drive up the price of the Steam Machines, not really being able to do anything else.

Some of the takeaways from this have been highlighted in a recent interview with Bloomberg, with Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat saying that the component situation is actually getting worse.

"Honestly, it's still getting worse, just in case people are not aware. What people are seeing on retail shelves right now, from our observations, is lagging behind what we're seeing from a bulk supply by at least three to six months," Adehayyat told Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

This tracks with what others have said about the hardware market, and Microsoft has said it needs help to launch its next-gen Project Helix console, indicating that the system could be an OEM device.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has commented on the situation, saying that, by Holiday 2027, memory and storage prices will be up more than 7x since the time she arrived at the company.

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Question #1

What did Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat say about current retail RAM availability versus bulk supply?

Yazan Aldehayyat said the situation is still getting worse and that what people see on retail shelves is delayed compared with bulk supply by at least three to six months. He stated this in a recent interview with Bloomberg.

Answered

Question #2

How are tariffs mentioned in the article affecting component costs for game hardware?

The article says months of unnecessary tariffs have helped drive up component costs for games hardware, significantly impacting the market and stalling hardware adoption. These tariffs, even though they are getting refunded, contributed to inflated prices that forced companies like Valve to accept higher memory costs and produce more expensive devices such as the $1,049 Steam Machine.

Answered

Question #3

What impact have RAM and storage shortages had on hardware adoption in the games market?

The RAM and storage shortages have driven up component costs and stalled hardware adoption in the games market, forcing higher retail prices that have squeezed both gamers and manufacturers out of the mainstream. Valve says this pushed its Steam Machine price to an astronomical $1,049 and left companies little choice but to accept inflated memory prices or miss contracts, with wholesale supply shortages lagging retail by three to six months.

Answered

Question #4

What timeframe does Xbox CEO Asha Sharma cite for memory and storage prices rising 7x?

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said that by Holiday 2027 memory and storage prices will be up more than 7x since she arrived at the company.

Answered

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Microsoft is believed to launch Project Helix sometime in 2028, yet nothing has been confirmed yet in regards to release timing.