Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix – the world's three largest memory chip makers – have reportedly sold out their entire manufacturing capacity for both 2026 and 2027, according to Taiwanese outlet DigiTimes. This means PC gamers and buyers hoping for relief from soaring RAM, storage and graphics card prices are likely to be waiting until at least 2028, extending a components crisis that has already forced price hikes across the industry and hit products such as Valve's Steam Deck OLED and Steam Machine.

The report states that all three firms, who are also facing a US lawsuit over alleged price fixing, have exhausted their DRAM and HBM capacity through 2027, though NAND storage supply is in slightly better shape and expected to sell out by the end of this month. Hopes that emerging Chinese manufacturers such as CXMT might ease the squeeze appear premature, as only a handful of manufacturers, including HP, Asus and Acer, currently use their memory, and only in limited Asia-market products. Compounding the problem, demand from the AI industry's data centres shows no sign of slowing, meaning any extra supply could simply be absorbed there rather than reaching consumer PC parts.