NVIDIA Reportedly Plans Major GeForce RTX 50 Production Cuts in 2026

Recent reports suggest Nvidia is preparing to significantly reduce production of its GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs in the first half of 2026. The reason is not poor demand, at least not directly, but something more fundamental: memory shortages.

According to multiple sources, Nvidia could cut GeForce GPU production by 30–40% compared to the first half of 2025. These shortages are not limited to GDDR7, the new memory standard used by RTX 50 series cards. Instead, they reportedly affect memory supply across the board, including DRAM and NAND.

That leaves Nvidia with a difficult choice. Either it cannot source enough memory to maintain current production levels, or it expects GPU demand to soften in 2026 as rising component costs push PC prices higher. In reality, it may be a combination of both.

Memory Supply Is Becoming the Bottleneck

The most detailed report comes from China’s BoBantang, which claims Nvidia will deliberately scale back GeForce RTX 50 series output next year to manage limited memory availability. The report states that supply in the first half of 2026 will be down 30–40% compared to the same period in 2025.

What’s notable is what the report does not mention. There is no reference to Nvidia’s RTX PRO lineup. If memory really is the limiting factor, it raises an obvious possibility: Nvidia may be prioritising its more profitable professional GPUs over consumer GeForce cards.

From a business perspective, that makes perfect sense. RTX PRO cards command far higher margins and are sold into markets that are less price-sensitive than the gaming market. If memory supply is tight, those products will almost certainly be the first to go.

Mid-Range Cards Appear to Be First on the Chopping Block

Benchlife has added more detail, claiming Nvidia plans to begin its production cuts by targeting the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and RTX 5070 Ti.

This strategy is easy to understand. Both of these GPUs have the same 16GB of memory as the far more expensive RTX 5080. Every batch of GDDR7 allocated to a 5060 Ti or 5070 Ti is memory that cannot be used to produce a higher-margin card.

In other words, Nvidia is reallocating scarce memory to its most profitable SKUs.

Several add-in-board partners and component suppliers have reportedly echoed this view, stating that Nvidia will first adjust supply for the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB models. Lower-memory variants are expected to remain more widely available.

Why This Is Bad News for Gamers

While this approach may make financial sense for Nvidia, it creates real problems for consumers.

The RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is widely seen as a much better product than its 8GB counterpart. The extra VRAM matters. Modern games are increasingly demanding, especially at higher resolutions and with ray tracing enabled. An 8GB card often requires texture compromises, lower settings, or stuttering due to memory limits.

By reducing the availability of 16GB models, Nvidia effectively nudges buyers toward lower-memory cards that will age poorly. Gamers who want a card that can handle new releases without constant trade-offs may find their options shrinking.

This is not just about performance today. VRAM capacity determines how long a GPU remains usable. Cutting the supply of higher-memory models accelerates obsolescence for a large portion of the market.

Rising Memory Prices Add More Pressure

The broader memory market only makes the situation worse. DDR5 prices are already extremely high, and there are strong indications that these increases will spill over into GPU pricing.

When memory is expensive and limited, manufacturers tend to favour two product categories: cheaper cards with minimal memory and premium models with high margins. Mid-range GPUs with generous VRAM are the hardest to justify under these conditions.

That is bad news for PC builders and gamers who want balanced cards rather than stripped-down budget options or expensive flagships.

Could This Lead to a GPU Shortage?

If Nvidia reduces GeForce RTX 50 production by 30–40%, the obvious question is whether that will trigger another GPU shortage.

The answer depends on demand. If PC sales slow due to rising costs, reduced supply may keep inventories in balance. But if demand remains steady, or spikes due to new game releases or generational upgrades, prices could rise quickly.

Limited availability of higher-VRAM models leads to inflated prices in the retail channel, especially if resellers sense scarcity.

A Familiar Pattern, With Higher Stakes

None of this is unprecedented. NVIDIA has repeatedly shown that it will prioritise margins over volume when constraints appear. What’s different this time is how directly memory availability influences the usefulness of the final product.

Reducing production of 16GB cards does not just affect numbers on a spreadsheet. It changes what gamers can realistically buy and how well those GPUs will perform in the years ahead.

If these reports are accurate, 2026 could be a rough year for anyone hoping to buy a well-balanced GeForce GPU at a reasonable price.