Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney projected that the gaming hardware supply shortage could continue for the next three years due to component demand from AI systems and data centers.

GamesIndustry.biz reported on the 3rd (local time) on a "Crash 2.0" feature interview published in issue 428 of gaming publication Edge. Edge surveyed nine industry experts, including Sweeney, regarding the current state and future outlook of the gaming industry.

Sweeney described the component crisis as an "unexpected, severe disruption." He stated, "There's an unprecedented wave of investment in building AI systems and data centers," adding, "the scale of the economic opportunity there means they can outbid the entire entertainment industry for all the components."

He continued, "So we [the gaming industry] are getting the short end of the stick, and the prices of RAM and storage are quadrupling, and not necessarily stopping there."

Sweeney predicted, "We should expect there's just going to be a continual supply crisis for all gaming-relevant hardware for the next three years." He added that building massive new factories to meet global capacity demands is the only solution, though constructing new plants and expanding capacity will take considerable time.

Supply pressure in the memory market is also corroborated by separate data. Market research firm TrendForce analyzed in a July report that PC DRAM supply is shrinking as manufacturers prioritize server products. It projected that general-purpose DRAM contract prices in Q3 2026 will rise 13–18% quarter-over-quarter, with NAND flash prices increasing 10–15%. However, TrendForce anticipated that NAND flash supply constraints will ease starting in the second half of 2027.

Meanwhile, Sweeney characterized the current gaming industry in the interview as experiencing "the worst crash we've seen since the 1980s." He cited the high development costs of AAA games as an internal factor and component shortages as an external factor.