Gaming hardware prices won’t come down until 2028 at the earliest: analysts
Key Points
- Games-industry research firm Niko Partners says gaming hardware prices are unlikely to fall until 2028 at the earliest.
- It cites RAM costs, the AI boom, tariffs, currency fluctuations, inflation and geopolitical instability as the key drivers.
- It now expects longer hardware upgrade cycles and a new, higher pricing baseline.
Gaming hardware prices are unlikely to fall until 2028 at the earliest, according to games-industry research firm Niko Partners.
The firm told HotMinute it is not seeing any major dip in memory prices, or any other signal that would point to a decline in gaming hardware prices in the near term.
Niko Partners said it would not expect prices to come down until 2028 at the soonest. Whether prices climb again from here remains to be seen, the firm said, but they are not falling right now.
The research firm pointed to a combination of factors behind the increases. It named RAM costs, the artificial intelligence boom, tariff impacts, currency fluctuations, inflationary pressures and geopolitical instability as the main pressures pushing gaming hardware prices up.
Longer upgrade cycles
Niko Partners said a new pricing baseline is emerging across the category. It expects mid-generation price bumps to disappear as component costs settle over the next couple of years.
For buyers, the firm said the primary impact of rising hardware prices would be longer upgrade cycles. It added that developers would need to optimise their games for current mid-range builds as a result, rather than assuming players are moving to newer, more powerful machines.
Niko Partners noted that it does not currently cover the UK market, and that its analysis reflects the broader, global picture for gaming hardware.
The firm said the markets it does track, Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), continue to show resilience and long-term growth potential despite geopolitical uncertainty, shifting trade policies and wider economic volatility affecting industries worldwide.
According to the firm’s forecast, Asia and MENA countries will continue to outpace worldwide video game software and services growth through 2030.
