It's no secret that the DRAM crisis is predicted to go on for a while, with everyone from Korean news outlets to, more recently, OEMs like Lenovo, predicting that massive price hikes are slated to be the norm in PC hardware for the foreseeable future, thanks to AI data center demand. Following the recent Micron Q3 financial report, in which the DRAM maker revealed record results for the quarter, Micron's CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, commented on the current DRAM situation, stating to investors that "Our customers are recognizing that supply shortages in memory and storage will take considerable time to improve."
He continued, saying that "Even as we expect industry supply to improve gradually in 2028, we currently do not have a line of sight as to when memory supply will be able to catch up with increasing demand." Earlier in 2027, Micron announced a number of new initiatives to increase DRAM supply to meet current demand, including a new megafab in New York, which it expects to complete by early 2029, and intentions to buy a fab from PSMC in a $1.8 billion deal that would see meaningful DRAM output by late 2027. While the shortage is expected to ease somewhat, it's entirely likely that prices will remain elevated for a while to come, which will likely affect the upcoming Xbox Helix console, PS6 and PS6 Portable, and the already announced Steam Machine—which Valve expects will continue to be overpriced—for a while.