If you’ve been putting off a new gaming PC build hoping RAM prices would come back down to earth, Micron has some bad news for you. One of the world’s biggest memory manufacturers has declared that the global RAM shortage is far from over — and could stretch until at least 2028.
Four More Years of Painful Memory Prices
Micron, which sits alongside Samsung and SK Hynix as one of the “Big Three” DRAM producers, delivered the forecast from a decidedly comfortable position. With memory prices climbing steeply, the company has been raking in enormous revenues — prompting critics to note that the shortage warning was issued, quite literally, from atop a mountain of money.
The driving force behind the crisis is the AI boom. Massive data centers being built to train and run artificial intelligence models are devouring the world’s memory supply, leaving PC builders and gamers to fight over what’s left. With demand expected to keep outpacing production capacity for years, Micron’s leadership sees no meaningful relief on the horizon before 2028.
The Price-Fixing Allegations Hanging Over the Industry
Not everyone is buying the simple supply-and-demand narrative. A lawsuit filed in the United States accuses all three memory giants — Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix — of worsening the RAM crisis through price fixing, allegedly coordinating to artificially constrain supply and drive up costs.
A Familiar Story for the Memory Market
If the allegations sound familiar, they should. The DRAM industry has a documented history of price-fixing scandals, including major cases in the early 2000s that resulted in billions in fines. While the manufacturers deny any wrongdoing this time around, the optics are undeniably awkward: three companies control virtually the entire market, prices are soaring, and record profits are being posted at the same time consumers are told to expect shortages for years.
What the RAM Shortage Means for Gamers
The practical consequences for PC gamers have been brutal. DDR5 memory kits that were bargain-priced not long ago have seen dramatic price hikes, with some kits doubling or even tripling in cost. That turns what used to be one of the cheapest components of a build into a major budget item.
The damage doesn’t stop at RAM sticks, either:
- GPU prices are under pressure — graphics cards use the same GDDR memory chips, so VRAM scarcity pushes video card prices higher too.
- Prebuilt PCs are getting pricier — system integrators pass memory costs straight to buyers.
- Upgrade plans are stalling — many gamers are delaying moving from 16GB to 32GB, even as modern games demand more memory.
Our advice? If you genuinely need RAM for a build in the near future, waiting for prices to normalize probably isn’t a strategy — not with a 2028 timeline on the table. Buying sooner rather than later may spare you from further hikes, though budgets should be planned carefully.
Save Money Where You Can: Cheap Games and Gift Cards
While hardware costs are out of your control, the price of the games themselves doesn’t have to be. If your build budget is getting eaten alive by RAM prices, you can stretch the rest of your money further with discounted game keys and gift cards at TURGAME.com. From Steam Wallet codes to Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo eShop gift cards, it’s an easy way to keep your library growing while the memory market burns through your wallet.
Bottom Line
Whether the shortage is purely an AI-driven supply crunch or something the Big Three have nudged along, the outcome for gamers is the same: expensive RAM for the foreseeable future. With a US lawsuit now in the mix, the next few years could bring scrutiny, settlements, or even relief — but until then, PC builders should budget accordingly and grab memory when the price is right.
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun
Source: Rock Paper Shotgun