NVIDIA warns gaming GPU shortage will last through 2026 as ai demand soars
- Marijan Hassan - Tech Journalist
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Last week, NVIDIA Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress dealt another blow to PC gamers and console manufacturers, confirming that the global shortage of gaming chips is expected to last until the end of the year. Despite reporting a record-breaking fiscal year, the company warned that supply for its GeForce RTX line will remain "very tight" for several quarters as manufacturing capacity is diverted to satisfy the explosive demand for high-margin AI processors.
The announcement means another extended period of inflated prices and "sporadic out-of-stocks" for a gaming industry already struggling with slowing consumer demand.
The "AI Priority" squeeze
The primary driver of the shortage is a fundamental shift in how the world’s most advanced silicon is allocated.
Nvidia’s Data Center division, which powers the world's AI "factories," generated $62.3 billion this quarter, dwarfing the Gaming division’s $3.7 billion. Analysts note that Nvidia is incentivized to prioritize these AI chips, which command significantly higher profit margins.
Additionally, a global shortage of GDDR7 and HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) chips has created a production bottleneck. Kress noted that this memory supply constraint will be a significant "headwind" through at least the first half of fiscal 2027.
To top it off, there’s competition for advanced fabrication space at TSMC, which has forced Nvidia to make difficult choices - like reducing allocations for consumer graphics cards in favor of enterprise Blackwell and Vera Rubin systems.
Impact on consoles and the PC market
The shortage is expected to have a ripple effect across the entire hardware ecosystem.
Nintendo Switch 2 risks: While the current Nintendo Switch uses older Nvidia tech, the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 (rumored for a 2026 wide release) relies on more modern Nvidia architecture that is directly affected by these supply constraints.
The "RTX 5090" Price Hike: High-end PC components have already seen sharp price increases. In the UK and Europe, the GeForce RTX 5090 is reportedly selling for 20-30% above MSRP due to limited retail stock.
Console decline: Research firm TrendForce has revised its 2026 forecast for the console market downward, predicting a 4.4% decline as manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft (which use AMD hardware but face similar component shortages) struggle with rising BOM (Bill of Materials) costs.
The new normal for 2026
Nvidia’s executive team was cautious about promising a quick fix. "As much as we would love to have more supply, we do believe for a couple of quarters it is going to be very tight," Kress told investors.
The best-case scenario offered by the company suggests that supply may only begin to stabilize in the fourth quarter of 2026 (ending January 2027), leaving the holiday shopping season in a precarious state.
"Our customers are racing to invest in AI compute - the factories powering the AI industrial revolution," said CEO Jensen Huang. While the company remains committed to its 200 million GeForce users, the reality is that the "AI gold rush" is currently claiming the lion's share of the world's most advanced manufacturing capacity.
