RAMageddon Will Only Get Worse in 2027, According to Samsung

The entirety of 2026 has been defined by an ongoing RAM crisis, causing price increases on everything from the PS5 to the Steam Machine. And, according to Samsung's latest earnings report, it's only going to get worse over the next year.

In its Q3 2026 earnings call, it was shared that Samsung's semiconductor segment, which includes its memory business, made the company 147.1 trillion Korean Won, of which 106.5 trillion is profit. That makes up for 72% of all of Samsung's revenue in the last quarter. And according to Samsung, those numbers were possible by prioritizing the manufacturing of the HBM4 memory used in AI datacenters.

Looking forward, Samsung expects the memory market to tighten even more in 2027, with the company claiming "Surging AI-driven demand likely to further tighten supply shortages compared with CY26," when talking about the memory business next year. AI demand is so strong that Samsung doesn't even mention consumer-grade DDR5 memory, and is instead focused entirely on building a "stable sales base through long-term contracts and ensure timely readiness of new products tailored to requirements for AI applications."

This earnings report comes just a couple months after a Digitimes report suggested that all memory capacity for 2027 had already been sold through. And, according to Samsung's earnings, that Digitimes report seems like it was accurate, even if the company is working to expand manufacturing to make, well, more RAM for AI data centers.

Samsung is one of just three major memory manufacturers in the world right now, and all three have prioritized manufacturing hich capacity server-grade memory for AI datacenters rather than anything that you'd find in a gaming PC. As early as December last year, Micron killed off Crucial, its consumer-facing memory and storage brand.

There have already been signs that the RAM crisis is worsening, as well. A couple of weeks ago, the PS5 Pro sold out, causing the price of used consoles to skyrocket to $1,399. And, earlier today Xbox CEO Asha Sharma claimed that demand is outstripping supply for consoles, even if the Xbox Series X and Series S are still widely available right now.