No. Every analyst I spoke to said that gaming hardware costs were only going to keep rising, with most analysts giving an estimate of somewhere between 2027 and 2029 before prices began to ease, if they eased at all. As Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics, explains, “The increases happening now are lagging indicators, not the peak. Platform holders and manufacturers run on long-term supply contracts and inventory buffers that initially shielded retail pricing. As those contracts expire, companies are renegotiating component costs at today’s inflated rate, and that pressur
Analysts Say Video Game Hardware Isn't Getting Cheaper Anytime Soon… Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, who runs a competitor to Valve’s Steam storefront, figured this would be a good opportunity to take a shot at rival CEO Gabe Newell. “Everyone’s being too harsh here,” Sweeney posted on Thursday afternoon. “There has been a significant rise in the cost of components that… …
… Even Microsoft, which purports to run a video game console business, is apparently so vulnerable to the supply shocks caused in part by its own AI business that it can now no longer sell its nearly six-year-old, 10GB RAM Xbox Series S for less than $500. “The entire consumer electronics industry is… …
… At the moment, factories pushing out these components are largely spoken for through 2028, but even when that factory capacity opens up again, McWhirter says it will take time for supply to catch up with demand. …
… That and the fact that the AI race, which the bulk of Microsoft’s business is invested in right now, is fueling historic spikes in prices for the components used to make gaming hardware. …
… This move is a direct reaction to President Trump’s 2025 national security strategy, which states the United States must “never be dependent on any outside power for core components—from raw materials to parts to finished products—necessary to the nation’s defense or economy.” In the short term, yo… …
Indie of the Week ShantyTown By John Walker Published April 21, 2026 | Comments 7 Cozy construction has very calmly and quietly made itself into a successful little genre, taking the methodical satisfaction of classic games like SimCity and Theme Park , but delivering them without all the stressful… …