MSI plans 30% gaming product price hike as memory and GPU shortages bite — 'This year is the most severe year since the company was founded'
The company's co-founder called 2026 the hardest year in MSI's history.
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MSI plans to raise the prices of its gaming products by 15-30% in 2026, general manager Huang Jinqing told investors at an earnings briefing on March 13, according to a report published by Taiwan's United Daily News. Shortages of DRAM and Nvidia GPU supply, compounded by AI infrastructure demand consuming the bulk of available memory production, are driving the increases.
"This year is the most severe year since the company was founded," Huang told investors. MSI estimates a 20% gap in Nvidia GPU supply and projects that the broader PC market will contract by 10-20% in 2026, a more pessimistic view than IDC's December forecast of a 9% contraction.
A 16GB module that was selling for roughly $40 around this time last year now costs $170-180, with some spot transactions reaching $200, Huang said. MSI currently holds one to two months of secure memory inventory and is pursuing three- to five-year supply contracts with manufacturers to reduce exposure to spot pricing.
Article continues belowUnfortunately, these price hikes will hit hardest at the lower end of MSI's gaming lineup, which the company is deliberately cutting back. Low-end SKUs previously accounted for 30% of its gaming portfolio; MSI plans to redirect those resources toward mid-range and high-end products, including RTX 5060- and RTX 5070-tier hardware. Fewer units at higher average prices is the stated path to revenue growth this year, with Huang noting that customers, anticipating further increases, are already showing willingness to pay more, which he expects to partially offset the volume decline.
We’re seeing the same thing happening with MSI’s motherboards, too. The company previously shipped boards with a DDR5-to-DDR4 ratio of roughly 8:2; it is now redesigning and revalidating products to flip that to 2:8 in favor of DDR4 per United Daily News. With 16GB DDR4 currently running $110-120 versus $170-180 for DDR5, the cost gap makes DDR4-compatible platforms considerably more accessible even after DDR4's own sharp price increases. MSI has already launched new B550-based AM4 motherboards as part of that pivot.
Huang also updated investors on MSI's AI server business, where the company is targeting 50-100% annual revenue growth over the next three to five years. Capital expenditure is rising from NT$30 billion to NT$50 billion in 2026, focused on a new facility in Taoyuan.
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Luke James is a freelance writer and journalist. Although his background is in legal, he has a personal interest in all things tech, especially hardware and microelectronics, and anything regulatory.
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