NVIDIA will reportedly skip releasing new gaming graphics chips in 2026, a rare and unexpected turn in an industry that traditionally releases new GPUs annually. According to a report in The informationDue to supply constraints in the global memory market, largely driven by booming demand for AI accelerators and data center storage, Nvidia is running low on memory, forcing the company to postpone its planned RTX 50 Super refresh and effectively prioritize gaming GPUs this year.
This situation could create an unusual gap in Nvidia’s product cycle. Even the next generation of flagship GPUs, the highly anticipated RTX 60 series, is now likely to be delayed beyond what gamers were hoping for, with production potentially pushed back to 2028 as memory shortages persist. Nvidia has even reportedly cut production on some existing RTX 50 series cards to free up memory for AI-focused chips.
Why this matters for gamers and the GPU market
For the gaming public, a year 2026 without new Nvidia GPUs is more than just disappointing. In fact, it could change upgrade planning and pricing for the entire PC market. NVIDIA’s RTX 50 series, including cards like the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 released in 2025, was designed as a successor to the RTX 40 generation and is intended to further increase performance. However, with memory chips in short supply and AI demand siphoning off allocations, NVIDIA appears to be putting the incremental “Super” refresh that was expected earlier this year on hold.
The global memory shortage itself has been increasing for months, in part because memory manufacturers have shifted production capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and other components that serve AI workloads. This trend has driven up prices for consumer-focused memories like GDDR and DDR, making it harder and more expensive for companies like Nvidia to ensure a sufficient supply of gaming-focused GPUs while meeting booming demand for AI data centers.
Perhaps the bigger shock isn’t just a delayed update, but also the lack of a new gaming GPU for the first time in decades. As a result, the once reliable rhythm of mid-year updates and generation launches is giving way to bottlenecks and strategic prioritization. In this scenario, Nvidia’s gaming lineup could rely on existing RTX 50 cards for longer than expected, and premiums for current GPUs could remain high as buyers wait for the next real leap in performance. So far, Nvidia has not officially commented on the delays, but as things stand, the traditional rhythm of GPU releases will be disrupted and gamers may have to stick with the current hardware for longer than expected.
