AMD has notified its partners of a second planned price hike for its GPUs (including Radeon lineup) in a short period, due to a memory shortage and pricing pressures. According to industry sources, the upcoming price increase will be at least 10% and will affect the entire product line.

Per UDN report, AMD is raising GPU prices for its board partners by 10% due to a sharp rise in GDDR6 memory costs and a DRAM market driven by AI and data center demand. In practice, this means that future GPU shipments from AMD will have to be shipped from the factory at a higher price, opening the door to a price increase as existing stocks are depleted.

A graphics card typically passes through several companies before it reaches retail, so any cost increase does not show up immediately, especially if AMD keeps the official MSRP unchanged. Our article explains the pricing chain using Nvidia gaming GPUs as an example, but AMD follows a similar partner and distribution process.

The main reason for the decision is the ongoing global memory crisis called DRAM supercycle. This upcycle has already driven a sharp increase in retail RAM prices and is now starting to affect other hardware. The cost of base DRAM modules on the market has almost tripled this year.

Since AMD supplies partners with complete kits (GPU and memory), the price increase of the latter component directly affects the final cost of their graphics card.

Retail GPU prices are still mostly above MSRP

This situation poses additional challenges for AMD. For almost the entire market cycle, Radeon RX 9070 XT retail prices didn’t match AMD’s MSRP. GPUs only recently began appearing at the stated price in the lead-up to Black Friday, and now a new wave of price increases could further push products away from their target price points.

Against this backdrop, a representative of one of the AIB partners, PowerColor, initially recommended that customers purchase graphics cards asap while sales are in effect and before the new prices take effect next year, but later stated that his remarks had been misinterpreted.

Industry observers are hopeful that AMD has long-term contracts for GDDR6 memory, which could delay the immediate implementation of the new prices. Otherwise, the market could see additional price hikes for Radeon GPUs at the beginning of next year—a further blow for consumers amid a lack of news about the GeForce RTX 50 SUPER graphics cards, whose launch was also rumored to have been delayed due to rising memory prices.

Price hike for the base GPU component

Prices for GDDR6/7, the memory used in many modern GPUs, have already increased by approximately 30% on the spot market through 2025. This may seem trivial at first glance, but the impact is quickly felt when dealing with 8-16 gigabytes per GPU and millions of units produced.

Independent estimates indicate that this roughly 30% increase in GDDR6 costs adds $10 to $15 to the price of a 16GB GPU. Factoring in manufacturer margins, graphics card partners’ margins, and retailer margins, this isolated increase could lead to a $25 to $40 increase in the final consumer price.

Memory crisis to hit a wide range of gaming hardware

In November 2025, reports based on hardware insider claims suggested Nvidia‘s unannounced GeForce RTX 50 Super refresh could be delayed or even canceled due to a shortage of higher-density 3 GB GDDR7 memory modules, which the rumored 18 GB and 24 GB Super configurations would rely on. The same supply pressure was also framed as a risk for higher prices or limited availability across the existing RTX 50 lineup if GDDR7 costs stay elevated.

Another report we covered said that both AMD and Nvidia are weighing cutting some entry-level and mid-range gaming GPUs if GDDR VRAM becomes too large a share of the bill of materials, with budget cards like the Radeon RX 9060 XT and GeForce RTX 5060 class models seen as most vulnerable to margin pressure.

Board partners are considering lower VRAM configurations to keep costs down, but neither company has officially confirmed MSRP changes or cancellations.

Next, hardware insider Moore’s Law Is Dead claimed Microsoft has warned partners about a looming RAM shortage that could push Xbox Series X|S prices higher again in the near term, with potential short supply also affecting availability. Xbox Series X|S has already seen two price increases in 2025, in May and September, likely tied to US tariffs rather than memory costs.

Why is PC hardware getting more expensive?

Some of the specifics come from hardware insiders’ reporting, but the overall direction matches what the memory market has looked like in 2025. In the second half of 2025, DRAM prices rose rapidly, and consumer DDR5 pricing followed, with retailers raising everyday prices as new stock arrived at higher costs and shortages spread across the channel.

According to our research, DDR5 RAM kits almost doubled in price for consumers in 2 months.

The main driver is AI demand, which is pulling memory supply toward higher-margin server DRAM and HBM, leaving less capacity for consumer parts like DDR5 kits and GDDR VRAM. Major suppliers have pushed contract pricing higher during 2025, and recent reporting describes large jumps in server memory contract prices over short periods.

This dynamic is often described as a DRAM supercycle, meaning demand stays above supply for an extended stretch and pricing remains under upward pressure. Analysts expect the current upcycle to peak around 2027.

One factor behind the demand shock is OpenAI’s Stargate sourcing push with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. OpenAI says the partnerships target 900,000 DRAM wafer starts per month, and industry coverage has framed that scale as potentially approaching 40% of global DRAM output if fully ramped.

Smartphones have also been affected by the same memory cost pressure, with some new Xiaomi models launching at higher prices. After public backlash, specific models were temporarily discounted.

According to recent hardware industry reports and statistics, Xbox Series X|S may soon face another price hike. A well-known insider, Moore’s Law Is Dead, claims that Microsoft has warned partners of a severe RAM shortage that will impact Xbox console pricing in the very near future.

The memory shortage and subsequent price hikes stem from the AI boom, as companies like OpenAI absorb a colossal share of the global DRAM supply.

In his recent video, Moore’s Law Is Dead claimed that Microsoft’s console business will feel the pressure from the ongoing memory crisis much sooner than expected. The company allegedly warned partners that the RAM shortage would impact the Xbox Series X|S “very soon”.

Reportedly, Microsoft hadn’t planned anything and didn’t stockpile hardware components, so prices across the current line of Xbox consoles will rise, and Xbox X|S availability may be disrupted for a time. This will happen sooner rather than later.

According to the insider, Sony is in a better position. The company purchased vast amounts of GDDR6 memory when prices were low. This supply will last for the coming months, allowing Sony to feel confident and even lower the prices of all PlayStation 5 models for Black Friday. They’re not worried about RAM shortages, at least in the short- and middle-term.

Xbox has already raised prices twice in 2025

The Xbox Series console lineup has seen two price hikes in 2025 (in May and September), likely due to US government tariffs on various products. The previous price hikes for Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass have already sparked criticism in the gaming industry, protests from gamers, and left analysts confused. Additionally, Xbox raised the price of the dev kit console.

Meanwhile, Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed in recent interviews that the team is already working on the next-generation console. She described the future device as a powerful experience and a premium product, hinting at the possibly even higher price and architectural flexibility inherent in Windows.

Why is hardware getting more expensive?

While rumors should be treated with caution, this information aligns with the current hardware industry landscape. In the second half of 2025, DRAM chip prices soared across the board, prompting retail memory prices to surge, leaving consumers unable to purchase the RAM they needed.

The price increase and subsequent shortage were driven by increased demand for DRAM from OpenAI and other AI companies. Memory manufacturers have redirected much of their capacity to providing servers and AI infrastructure. Samsung, Micron, and SK hynix have raised DRAM contract prices several times in 2025 by 15-30% each time.

This situation is called the DRAM supercycle, and it’s when the memory supply lags demand for extended periods, leading to prices that keep climbing. Analysts expect the current upcycle to last at least through 2027.

The main reason cited is OpenAI‘s large-scale, long-term deals with Samsung and SK Hynix. These contracts reserve up to 900,000 DRAM wafers per month. Once fully operational, this will account for approximately 40% of global DRAM production.

Memory-linked hardware price hikes

Consumer DDR5 RAM prices are rising fast and are already resetting retail baselines for PC gaming. In US stores, the median 2×32 GB kit is now over $200, and the median 2×16 GB kit is above $120. Over roughly a month, median prices are up about 40% market-wide, and 2×32 GB kits jumped around 70% in 6 weeks.

AMD has warned board partners about imminent GPU shipment price increases across the stack, including gaming Radeon cards, because VRAM and other memory components are becoming sharply more expensive in the AI-driven DRAM supercycle.

Korean industry reports add that both AMD and Nvidia may go further on budget and mid-range GPUs, potentially cutting some SKUs or lowering VRAM configs to keep costs in check. Nothing is confirmed yet, but the theme matches the Xbox story: memory inflation is pushing up hardware prices and squeezing the affordable end first.

Even smartphones have felt the same memory pressure, with new Xiaomi models launching at higher prices. After public pushback, some models were temporarily discounted.

AMD has reportedly notified its board partners that GPU prices will increase very soon across all models, including gaming Radeon models, as graphics card memory costs spike in the wake of the new AI-driven DRAM supercycle.

At the same time, Korean hardware industry reports claim that both AMD and Nvidia are weighing more drastic options, including cutting or cancelling some budget and mid-range gaming GPUs, because surging memory prices are making those graphics cards unprofitable.

Rising gaming GPU production costs

AMD’s internal notice, reported via channels of its Chinese hardware board partners, describes imminent GPU price increases. The company is said to be raising shipment prices across the whole model lineup because memory procurement costs have risen sharply, with the hike expected to apply to consumer Radeon graphics cards as well as workstation and AI products.

The exact increase and timing are not yet publicly known, but the following GPU shipments to board partners are expected to carry significantly higher prices.

For now, this applies only at the partner level, but new MSRPs are expected, since AIB partners are unlikely to absorb all increases so that the hikes will be passed on to consumers. Board makers and OEMs will decide how much of the higher bill to pass through to retail pricing, while older inventory bought at previous rates and upcoming sales can temporarily soften the impact.

Potential GPU model cuts and VRAM downgrades

The Korea Economic Daily describes a more severe scenario that goes beyond GPU price hikes. According to the report, both AMD and Nvidia are weighing the option to discontinue some mid-range and entry-level gaming GPUs if GDDR VRAM ends up accounting for too large a share of the bill of materials.

Even without cutting models, a price hike on budget options is projected to be significant. GPUs like the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT or Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 could be at risk, since budget buyers are more sensitive to a 15-30% price increase on an entry-level $300 GPU than to a similar jump for a $1000 high-end graphics card targeting enthusiasts.

The same report says OEMs (Asus, specifically) are already considering lower-memory configurations and fewer GPU models, where inflated VRAM pricing is still acceptable, which could repeat the limited choice and poor value seen during the GPU crypto mining era.

Neither AMD nor Nvidia has announced recommended price changes or specific product cancellations, so the possibility of budget and mid-range SKUs being canceled remains a rumor, even if supported by well-known hardware industry insiders, media, and statistics.

Taken together with the confirmed DRAM supercycle and AMD’s reported partner notices, new graphics cards are to become more expensive to manufacture, and maintaining affordable gaming GPUs will become unprofitable for corporations.

Memory costs threaten Nvidia RTX 50 Super refresh

Earlier, we reported that several hardware insiders had shared information about a potential RTX 50-series Super refresh. While their details differed, they all agreed that the launch was being pushed back, prices could end up higher than expected, and VRAM configurations might be reduced.

All this is a result of a broader DRAM supercycle that we track in our ongoing coverage of rising PC hardware prices. The current memory hikes have already moved from DDR5 RAM into other PC components and consumer devices and are likely to affect laptops, consoles, and handhelds next.

Gaming GPUs are no longer core market for Nvidia and AMD

Nvidia’s gaming GPUs are a secondary business line next to data center hardware. In the recent fiscal declaration, Nvidia reported $57.0 billion in total revenue, with $51.2 billion from Data Center and $4.3 billion from Gaming. The company’s largest revenue driver is business AI and server GPUs, not consumer GeForce sales.

AMD’s revenue overview shows the same direction. In Q3 2025, AMD posted $4.3 billion from its Data Center segment and $4.0 billion from Client and Gaming combined. The Gaming sub-segment was $1.3 billion, and AMD attributed that growth to custom console chips plus Radeon models, so discrete GPUs are only part of the category.

The memory market serving AI and servers uses the same supply base as the consumer VRAM. Recent reporting shows AI data center demand driving a DRAM undersupply and sharp contract price increases, with record low inventories and suppliers prioritizing high-margin HBM and server parts.

As memory prices rise across vendors, graphics memory costs grow alongside, lifting the bill of materials for new gaming GPUs from both AMD and Nvidia.

Rising PC gaming hardware prices

The partner warning about higher GPU prices aligns with the ongoing memory price surge already affecting consumer parts; prices are climbing across PC hardware and adjacent devices. RAM and storage are under direct pressure from AI data centers. Supply of core components trails demand, so manufacturers raise contract prices, and higher costs flow through OEMs and into retail.

Board partners now face higher bills of materials, while tariffs add further volatility. As a result, retail prices for modern RAM kits have doubled over the past year, and other memory-bound hardware is starting to follow.

Our latest snapshot shows DDR5 kit prices in US retail at a historic high. The median price for 2×32 GB kits has moved above $200, while 2×16 GB kits are above $120. Over about a month, median prices rose around 40% across the PC RAM market, and 2×32 GB kits climbed 70% in six weeks, with momentum building from late September into early November.

These are median retail figures across multiple stores and brands, so they reflect a broad repricing of mainstream consumer DDR5 RAM kits.

What is DRAM supercycle?

The previous DRAM supercycle in 2017 followed a simple pattern. Demand for memory in smartphones and data centers remained ahead of supply for multiple quarters, while suppliers focused capacity on higher-value parts.

Contract and spot prices increased for months, and retail DDR4 RAM kit prices roughly doubled over the course of a year. Only after inventories were rebuilt in late 2018 and through 2019 did prices retrace.

Analysts now point to a new memory supercycle that may peak around 2027. By late Q3 2025, DRAM inventories had fallen to about three weeks of supply. Vendors are channeling available capacity into AI demand.

Major DRAM manufacturers (Samsung, Micron, and SK hynix) have raised contract prices multiple times this year, with recent rounds in the 15-30% range. Over the same period, all three have reported record or near-record profits.

These increases have already reached consumers through higher RAM prices, producing a multi-quarter uptrend with potential shortages that could run well into 2026 before easing.

Industry warnings on the memory crisis

Memory makers are not signalling quick relief. Micron expects tight DRAM conditions to persist through 2026. Adata chairman Simon Chen says AI customers are outbidding the consumer PC market, upstream inventory has dropped to roughly two to three weeks, and his teams were instructed to sell cautiously and prioritise long-term clients.

Issues are beginning to surface in other consumer devices. Xiaomi has warned that rising memory costs are pushing smartphone prices higher and adjusted Redmi K90 launch pricing, then briefly discounted the 12/512 GB variant after consumer pushback. Memory inflation is flowing into retail pricing faster than many buyers expect.

Why are hardware prices rising?

Prices are rising because AI demand is consuming most of the available memory, limiting capacity for other segments. When fabs run near full utilisation, suppliers raise contract prices, partners adjust their own pricing, and retail follows as new inventory arrives at a higher cost.

Until new fabrication capacity comes online or AI demand normalises, this pressure persists, and RAM or SSD shortages can appear alongside further price increases.

Recent multi-billion-dollar hardware deals and long-term supply agreements in the AI sector lock in even more capacity:

• Nvidia plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and deliver about 10 GW of AI GPUs to data centers.
• Nvidia will invest $2 billion in xAI to secure an estimated $20 billion AI accelerator deal.
• Nvidia has committed around $5 billion to Intel for AI hardware development.
• OpenAI has signed a new GPU supply deal with AMD.
• OpenAI and Broadcom have agreed on 10 GW of custom AI accelerators.

Tariffs add to hardware costs

Tariffs are adding a separate cost driver on top of memory hikes. In 2025, Nvidia has already moved to cushion tariff exposure, with channel reports pointing to price increases across most product lines, reportedly including low-double-digit lift on GeForce GPUs.

Looking ahead to 2026, TSMC is expected to raise foundry prices for advanced nodes by about 5-10% in response to US tariff pressure, which would increase silicon costs for new AMD and Nvidia GPUs fabricated on those processes.

A draft US policy discussed in late September goes further, proposing up to 100% semiconductor import tariffs for companies that do not meet a domestic production ratio, keeping tariff risk elevated and adding a premium to final prices even without a finalized timeline.

For board partners, tariffs and memory inflation stack. When GDDR contracts rise, VRAM becomes a larger part of the GPU bill of materials. If the same memory or the finished cards face higher import costs in the US, partners pay more again on landing. The result is a double increase in new cards: higher VRAM costs from the memory market and higher silicon or import costs from tariffs, which raise the floor for future MSRPs across gaming GPUs.

Summary: Gaming GPUs will become more expensive

GPU manufacturing costs are rising because the same memory shortage that raised DDR5 RAM prices is now driving up VRAM prices. Those higher costs are likely to be passed on to consumers.

If AMD’s shipment hike proceeds, the subsequent Radeon GPU batches land with higher VRAM costs, and board partners will reprice new stock in retail as older inventory clears. With memory taking a larger share of build cost, budget and mid-range gaming GPUs are becoming unprofitable to make, leaving vendors to raise MSRPs or reduce VRAM configurations.

Other, more drastic options include axing budget gaming GPU lines. Korean industry reports say AMD and Nvidia are considering cutting some entry- and mid-range GPU models if rising VRAM costs keep squeezing margins. The idea is to drop the lowest-profit SKUs or ship fewer of them until memory pricing stabilizes.

The gaming hardware market is struggling amid an AI-driven hardware economy. Contract prices for memory and storage rise first, OEM build costs follow, and retail adjusts when replenishment comes in at the higher prices. DDR5 kits and SSDs have already repriced in US retail, and GPUs are now catching that same memory wave, with consoles, laptops, and prebuilts next in line if component costs keep climbing.

The memory crisis, driven by the DRAM supercycle, is caused by AI demand and supply allocation. Data centers are locking in DRAM and HBM capacity through long-term contracts, inventories remain tight, and suppliers continue to prioritise higher-margin server and AI memory over consumer volumes.

With memory contracts rising across categories and VRAM for gaming GPUs becoming more expensive, the cost pressure on new graphics cards is increasing right now. It will stay well into 2026 or longer, until supply expands or AI demand cools.

Escape from Tarkov has left beta and launched version 1.0 on PC (BSG launcher and Steam) on November 15, 2025, after around eight years of paid testing. The extraction shooter was immediately hit by server problems, leaving numerous players unable to log in for more than ten hours and pushing the game’s user reviews into the “Mostly Negative” range.

After nine years of development, Escape from Tarkov was finally released on November 15, 2025, as version 1.0 (with a fresh wipe), available on PC only via the existing Battlestate Games client and Steam. The launch marks the culmination of a lengthy testing period that began in 2017, transforming Tarkov into what should be a fully developed extraction shooter.

However, the EFT release was overwhelmed by technical issues. Despite 24 hours of downtime prior to the 1.0 version launch, Tarkov’s servers were unable to handle the influx of players on launch day, leaving many users unable to start playing for more than 10 hours.

Battlestate later pushed a technical update to address networking and login problems, stating that load on its data centers had stabilised but warning that some players could still experience launcher and in-game errors, with issues persisting across the weekend. The studio also thanked players for their patience and promised in-game compensation for everyone affected.

Tarkov Steam player numbers and reviews

Since there’s no way to rate the game in the Battlestate Games launcher, and existing owners didn’t receive a copy of the extraction shooter on Steam, most users on Steam were unfamiliar with the typical issues that usually come with major Tarkov patches.

Those issues quickly showed up in the Steam rating. At launch day, Escape from Tarkov on Steam received roughly 20% positive user reviews and a “Mostly Negative” label, with around 1,000 negative reviews citing server errors, queues, and account-related problems.

At the same time, interest in Tarkov’s release is there. Despite the game having existed for more than 8 years in a separate launcher, SteamDB data lists an all-time peak of about 47,800 concurrent players on November 16, and around 500,000 copies of the game owned by Steam users (previously, the extraction shooter hit 750,000 wishlists).

According to Nikita Buyanov, head of Battlestate Games, the overall count of concurrent players near peak online was 297,000. “Our total online presence is currently 297,000, of which 40,000 are Steam-based. Old players are still in place”.

Steam review bombing, refunds, and bans controversy

Escape from Tarkov also sparked controversy around its Steam launch. Several users on Reddit claimed they bought the game on Steam specifically to leave a negative review, then refunded it, only to later find their main Battlestate accounts banned.

Cases like this can overlap with chargeback and fraud protections, which are common in large live-service games with in-game paid content, but the situation looks unclear from the outside. Nikita Buyanov’s public comment on the topic was that bans are only issued for cheating.

Tarkov 1.0 update overview

The 1.0 update itself is positioned as a significant milestone. Battlestate added a non-linear story campaign with a full tutorial and structured early progression. The campaign is tied to new main quests (most of the old ones are now listed as side quests), and has four different endings that conclude on the new Terminal map. After escaping from Tarkov (or not, depending on the ending), the player can roll the profile back and keep playing.

Trader interactions were expanded, key story beats now use short 3D scenes with animations and voiceover when you meet or report to traders, and some quest hand-offs are delivered through these sequences instead of static portraits and text.

On the content side, 1.0 introduces Terminal as the story finale location where players are supposed to escape from Tarkov and a new raid map built around close-quarters combat in docks and warehouses. There are also new AI factions: AF (RUAF, to be specific) in a few key places on regular maps and Black Division, tied to late-game and Terminal content.

Several existing locations are updated, with Interchange getting the largest rework. The outdoor area around the back of OLI has been expanded with additional covers, side routes, and new loot spots. Another unexpected addition is Tagilla’s hideout, and this boss can spawn on Interchange now. Extraction zones near Emercom and Railway are expanded, and a new exfill is added on the Interchange outskirts.

Core gameplay changes

Core mechanics are adjusted. Armor and ballistics are rebalanced once again, the economy is tightened with more money sinks inside the main quest line (which will show pretty early), and overall progression is linked more directly to campaign milestones.

A few new weapons have been added, hidden behind tedious unlock quests:

• TKPD 9.3×64 carbine;
• AS Val MOD.4 9×39 special assault rifle;
• AK-308 7.62×51 assault rifle;
• CGNL NL545 assault rifle (DI and GP);
• Marlin MXLR .308 ME lever-action rifle;
• M16A1 and M16A2 assault rifles.

While some Hardcore wipe settings were added to the release version, movement and weight penalties (inertia) remain closer to the softer Road to Release / Softcore patch.

Softcore-Hardcore patch mix

Hardcore Wipe and Road to Release pushed Tarkov in different directions, and 1.0 fell between them in terms of specific gameplay settings.

Initially, in Hardcore Wipe:

• The Flea Market was completely disabled.
• Rare loot and crafting were significantly nerfed.
• Hideout upgrade requirements were doubled.
• Access to maps was restricted (Ground Zero, Factory, and Customs were accessible with the rest being accessed via transit).
• Currency, ammo, and almost all medical supplies were prohibited from being stored in secure containers.
• Players were left with level-one traders and no main quests other than the daily and weekly ones.

Road to Release did the opposite: early Flea Market, reduced inertia and aimpunch, increased weight limit and loot, and accelerated skill and raid experience gain.

In the release version, Tarkov keeps several Softcore changes but brings back stricter progression. Reduced inertia and a higher carry weight limit from the Road to Release patch are now part of the core game. At the same time, maps unlock gradually now, closer to the Hardcore wipe structure, and players cannot put meds or ammo into the secure container.

The Flea Market was also reworked: access to most items is pushed to higher levels, and overall trading options are more restricted than in most pre-Softcore wipes.

Tarkov post-launch hotfixes

Following the release of 1.0, Battlestate rolled out a series of technical updates to address key issues.

BSG fixed incorrect texture quality after visiting traders when the “Reduced Texture Resolution in Streets of Tarkov” mode was enabled, a bug with an incomplete character model in the hideout, stutters during switching to the traders’ screen from the hideout, incorrect lighting on Jaeger when SSR is active, and the appearance of main menu elements while searching for a match.

Some PostFX settings have been temporarily disabled, teleportation and flying (literally) scavs have been fixed, and the DLSS version has been updated with a recommendation to change the preset if the optics reticle isn’t correct.

At the same time, BSG specifically acknowledged issues with loading the game through the launcher and Steam, “228” errors when interacting with merchants, and incorrect lighting for all merchants. Developers also warned about a software conflict with Nvidia Smooth Motion and advised simply turning off this option.

A separate set of changes concerns hardcore restrictions. After the 1.0 release, medicine was initially prohibited from being stored in secure containers, which caused community backlash. Nikita Buyanov launched a poll, “Medicine in a secure container: yes or no?”, and within a day, BSG rolled the meds balance back to the pre-Hardcore: healing items can now be stored in a secure container again.

Compensation for launch issues

According to the official announcement, all players will receive compensation for the 1.0 launch issues in the form of BEAR Classic and USEC Night Patrol clothing sets, depending on the chosen faction. Previously, these skins were available for real money as vanity DLC.

Those who have already purchased these skins are entitled to a separate in-game reward, delivered via SYSTEM email. According to community reports, the compensation of 1,000,000 in-game rubles is awarded to owners of these packs.

Tarkov Twitch Drops and stats

On Twitch, Escape from Tarkov’s 1.0 launch created a big spike in hours watched and pushed the game back to the top. On November 16, Tarkov briefly climbed to second place on Twitch with more than 200,000 live viewers, behind only Counter-Strike 2.

According to Stream Charts, November 2025 has already generated more than 16 million hours watched, with a peak of about 380,000 concurrent viewers during the first weekend, compared to sub-25,000 concurrent viewers in September and October.

Over the last 7 days, TwitchTracker ranks Escape from Tarkov as the third-most-watched game on the platform, with roughly 93,000 average viewers and nearly 4.8 percent of total Twitch share, a jump of over 1,600% week-on-week.

This launch surge still sits below Tarkov’s all-time record of around 570,000 peak viewers set during the New Year’s 2023 Twitch Drops event, but it is the biggest spike the game has seen since then.

Twitch Drops

The current Twitch Drops campaign is split into two parts. Standard watch-time Twitch Drops for Escape from Tarkov are active and working: viewers who link their Tarkov and Twitch accounts can earn free in-game items simply by watching participating streams during the launch window, and the event will run from the release into early December.

The subscription-based “Support-a-Streamer” campaign, which was supposed to grant extra rewards for gifting or buying Twitch subscriptions, did not start correctly.

After popular Tarkov streamers like Pestily and LVNDMARK pulled in thousands of subscriptions in minutes, Battlestate acknowledged that the paid Twitch Drops were broken and has postponed the campaign. According to BSG, the paid Drops event will be relaunched later, with the window adjusted so viewers do not miss out on rewards.

Pestily interview with Nikita Buyanov

In an interview with Pestily (notable Tarkov streamer), Nikita Buyanov described 1.0 as a full-fledged story release. The game will feature a primary storyline with multiple endings tied to completing missions and side quests; one of these is considered “the best” and involves actually escaping Tarkov, which will be tied to a prestige system.

Nikita specifically stated that achieving the best endings will be difficult and “not everyone will be able to escape Tarkov”, estimating the percentage of players who will see the best ending at a few percent.

He also mentioned a strengthened, more intrusive anti-cheat system (RMT-related cheating remains one of the major painpoints of the game), plans for a companion app and an open API for third-party services, as well as a focus on monetization exclusively through cosmetics and stash expansions. Long-term plans include DLCs that build on clans and alliances as the foundation for future seasons.

Tarkov and ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders continues to show substantial player numbers, beat its own records, and keep extraction shooters in view. Since launch, the game has sold over 4 million copies and reached around 480,000 concurrent players on Steam, with peaks above 700,000 across all platforms.

The North Line update and the Breaking New Ground event with the Stella Montis map kept ARC high in charts on Steam and Twitch, which indirectly helps Tarkov: the genre label “extraction shooter” is most visiable it ever been, new players have a clearer entry point before they look at other extraction shooters, and Steam’s “Similar to games you’ve played” enhancing visibility of Escape from Tarkov in the store.

The same ARC event window overlaps with Escape from Tarkov’s 1.0 and Steam launch. A major update, a new map, and active events in ARC can pull part of the potential audience away from Tarkov in the short term, simply because both compete for time from players.

We cannot quantify that impact: Tarkov’s own launcher is not in Steam statistics, ARC and Tarkov differ in pacing and difficulty, and they serve somewhat different segments (casual retrofuturistic shooter vs hardcore military simulation) under the same genre label. Any direct claim that ARC took a specific share of Tarkov’s players or vice versa would be speculation.

About Escape from Tarkov

Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore PvPvE extraction shooter for Windows developed and published by Battlestate Games, released in version 1.0 on November 15, 2025, on both Steam and the studio’s standalone launcher.

The current EFT rating on Steam is “Mixed” for English reviews, with 46% of 3,926 users recommending the game. For all languages, EFT sits at “Mostly Negative” with 31% positive reviews out of 20,159 overall.

One notable detail is the recommended hardware: Escape from Tarkov lists 64 GB of RAM, which is above the average even for recent AAA releases. This unusually high recommendation is primarily due to long-standing memory leak issues that have persisted for several years.

The developers describe it as a highly realistic military simulator, a “Hazardous Environment Combat Simulator” (HECS). The game entered closed beta in July 2017 and remained in beta for more than eight years before the full release.

Former Marathon product director Chris Sides said he hates the “extraction shooter” label, stating it is the only genre named after a gameplay mechanic. The claim is remarkable, coming from an ex-Bungie employee, the studio best known for the Destiny looter shooter franchise over the past decade.

During a new podcast, Shooter Monthly, former Marathon product director Chris Sides says he “hates” the term “extraction shooter”, calling it “so dumb” and “the only genre where its name is a mechanic”. He adds that the label “makes it hard to compare these games” and that “the genre doesn’t even know what it is”.

“So, you call Helldivers 2, is that an extraction shooter because you extract? No, it’s not like Tarkov at all. So, the terminology of the genre is already terrible; it really makes it hard to compare these games.”

Additionally, he said that he pushed Bungie’s marketing to find a different name for the genre while he was working on Marathon. He also drew sharper lines between genre subtypes, saying Arena Breakout and Escape from Tarkov fit the same mold (military shooters), but comparing ARC Raiders to EFT isn’t logical.

Other comments included comparing ARC Raiders to Rust, and asking whether Rust would fit in the extraction genre given its survival mechanics. Sides added that the Marathon team had been tracking ARC Raiders and other extraction titles for years, noting that ARC “is gotten so much better”.

Counterpoint

Chris Sides is a former product director on Bungie’s Marathon and previously worked on business intelligence for Destiny 2: The Witch Queen expansion. His statement is questionable because looter shooter is a mechanic-named game genre that includes Destiny 2, which he worked on, or the recently released Borderlands 4.

Other simple and popular mechanic-named genres include deckbuilders (Slay the Spire), autobattlers (Teamfight Tactics), idle/clicker games (Cookie Clicker), etc.

Phillip Black (ex-DICE) hosts Shooter Monthly under the Deconstructor of Fun banner. The debut episode discussed the current shooter landscape: Arena Breakout Infinite‘s Western traction, ARC Raiders’ positioning, Battlefield 6’s launch, and the premium and free-to-play split in game design.

Extraction shooters

Extraction shooters are the new hotness in PvP live-service games. Developers are still looking for the right gameplay formula, which includes, but is not limited to, a mix of high-risk PvPvE raids (which usually can be ended only by extracting from a designated point or player’s death), stash or global economy, and a seasonal pacing.

Publishers are funding multiple projects, but not everyone makes it to a successful release. Because the genre is still young, narrowly targeted, and challenging to build, many projects have failed, been canceled, or shut down shortly after launch.

Examples include:

• The Cycle: Frontier and Scavengers shutting down.
• Hyenas, project R7 from Respawn, and The Division Heartland canceled mid-development.
• Smaller releases like Marauders or Hawked going effectively dead.

At the same time, the picture is improving: Gray Zone Warfare and Delta Force‘s game mode Operations are still growing, while mobile titles like Arena Breakout and Lost Light remain active.

And of course, there are pioneers of the genre, Escape from Tarkov and Hunt: Showdown, the fresh hit ARC Raiders, and Bungie’s Marathon, whose troubled development we continue to cover, too.

For a complete picture, see our separate article on extraction shooters. It defines the core gameplay loop, traces the genre’s history, lists the most notable games (including failed ones), and highlights the few titles gaining momentum so new releases can be judged in context.

Marathon

Bungie indefinitely delayed Marathon from its planned September 23, 2025, launch after alpha feedback. After months of silence, the studio announced a Closed Technical Test for October 22-28 under NDA on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and added changes players were asking for: proximity voice chat, a solo queue, and adjusted combat pacing.

Sony has repeatedly signaled its aim to ship the game within its current fiscal year, ending March 2026, but that timing has not been officially confirmed. Sony acknowledged issues in its live-service pivot but said it remains optimistic.

The April alpha landed poorly: sentiment was mainly negative, and most players dropped Marathon after a day or two. The second test ran under NDA, but Steam data and a few leaks show retention several times higher than in April and general improvements.

ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders is a third-person PvPvE extraction shooter from Embark Studios (ex-DICE) for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, released on October 30, 2025. It drops squads or solo players into raids on the surface of a desolated planet with hostile AI ARC robots and other raiders, and supports cross-platform play.

Post-launch, ARC Raiders has sold 4 million copies and reached 700,000 concurrent players across platforms, with a peak of 462,488 CCU on Steam. Embark published a 2025 roadmap for the game, while patch 1.1.0 introduced new map conditions, including Night Raid on Blue Gate.

The developers also clarified the wipe system for ARC Raiders, the Expedition Project, which makes resets optional and tied to 8-week seasons. This is a unique solution and a big deal for extraction shooters.

Check out our ARC Raiders guides:

• How to level up Scrappy fast.
• Best graphics settings for ARC Raiders.

Escape from Tarkov

Escape from Tarkov is a hardcore extraction shooter by Battlestate Games. After eight years in beta, version 1.0 (PC only) is slated for release on November 15, 2025, and a Steam page for the game was launched in September. Console versions for EFT were confirmed, though the release window remains unknown.

The game passed 500,000 Steam wishlists in mid-October and 750,000 by November 5. Existing owners will need to purchase the Steam version separately to play on Steam; no free keys.

Ahead of launch, Battlestate rolled out a “Softcore” update that eases progression and gunplay, and officially confirmed a console port without platforms or a date. The softcore patch reduces inertia and aimpunch, raises carry weight, speeds XP and skills, brings earlier Flea Market access, and increases high-value loot density.

Our article on the history of extraction shooters focuses heavily on Tarkov’s development and related milestones. As an interesting note, the game was never intended to be an extraction shooter from the beginning and was aiming for a DayZ-style MMO with a single giant map.

A potential shortage of GDDR7 modules puts the RTX 50 Super GPUs in an uncertain position. Launch window and VRAM configurations may shift, and pricing is no longer predictable. The same memory pressure can also affect current Nvidia RTX 50-series lineup, leading to higher MSRPs or shortages.

Reports from various hardware insiders indicate that the RTX 50 Super refresh from Nvidia is now in doubt due to a shortage of 3 GB GDDR7 chips. While one source framed it as entirely canceled, another said it got delayed into Q3 2026, which is more logical.

Nvidia hasn’t officially announced the RTX 50 Super refresh yet. It hasn’t confirmed any changes, but the one common piece of information is that higher-density GDDR7 is the bottleneck for the graphics cards, shaping timing and availability of new Nvidia Super GPUs.

As reported earlier, the potential specification for the Nvidia RTX 50 Super refresh is below. One and a half times increased VRAM (compared to base GPUs) is under question now, too; nothing is certain with the AI accelerators consuming all available memory.

Nvidia RTX 50 Super GPU specifications (unofficial)

If GDDR7 modules stay tight (and memory supply is at an all-time low due to the DRAM supercycle) or expensive, the RTX 50 Super refresh is likely to slip to a later launch, be heavily repriced, or have a lower VRAM configuration.

Memory crisis may affect current RTX 50 GPUs

The pressure is not limited to the upcoming (or not) refresh. Rising memory costs could prompt Nvidia to adjust MSRPs for current RTX 50-series GPUs.

This risk sits within a broader DRAM supercycle: we continue to cover all related news on rising PC hardware prices, while the memory crisis is now spilling from DDR5 RAM to other PC parts and consumer devices, and may soon affect laptops, consoles, and handhelds.

Hardware insider pointed to the potential shortage of the RTX 5060 Ti model with 16 GB of VRAM specifically.

In short, both the rumored Super lineup and today’s RTX 50 models are to be affected by the same memory-driven cost surge and shortage.

Rising gaming hardware prices

Prices are rising across PC hardware and beyond. RAM and storage are feeling pressure from AI data centers. Supply of basic components lags demand, prompting manufacturers to hike prices. Rising costs hit OEMs and are later passed on to customers.

Board partners face higher bills of materials, while tariffs add volatility. The result is that retail prices for modern RAM kits have almost doubled over the past half year, and other hardware may follow suit.

Our most recent snapshot shows a historic high in US DDR5 RAM kit prices. The median price for 2×32 GB kits has moved above $200, while 2×16 GB is now above $120. Over roughly a month, median prices rose about 40% for the whole PC RAM market, while 2×32 GB kits rose 70% in 6 weeks, with momentum building from late September into early November.

These are median retail figures across multiple stores and various manufacturers, indicating a broad repricing of mainstream consumer DDR5 RAM kits.

DRAM supercycle

The previous DRAM supercycle in 2017 followed a simple pattern. Rising smartphone memory and data center demand ran ahead of supply for multiple quarters while suppliers prioritized higher-value parts.

Contract and spot prices climbed for months, and retail RAM kit prices roughly doubled within a year, but the cycle only reversed after inventories rebuilt in late 2018 and through 2019.

Analysts now point to a new memory supercycle that peaks around 2027. DRAM inventories fell to a record low (about 3 weeks of supply) by late Q3 2025. Suppliers are diverting all existing capacity toward an endless stream of AI demand.

Leading vendors have signaled DRAM contract hikes from all major memory manufacturers (Samsung, Micron, and SK Hynix), and those hikes have already been passed on to consumers through rising RAM prices. The result is a multi-quarter pricing uptrend with potential shortages that can persist into 2026 before easing.

Warnings from hardware industry

Memory makers are signaling that relief isn’t coming soon. Micron expects tight DRAM conditions to persist through 2026, while Adata’s chairman, Simon Chen, says AI buyers are outbidding the PC market, upstream inventory has fallen to roughly two to three weeks, and his teams were told to sell sparingly and prioritize long-term customers—conditions he expects to last into 2026.

The memory squeeze is starting to show up in smartphones. Xiaomi warned that rising memory costs are pushing device prices higher and adjusted Redmi K90 launch pricing, then temporarily discounted the 12/512 GB model after consumer pushback. Memory inflation flows into retail pricing too fast for usual consumers.

Why are hardware prices rising?

Prices are rising because AI is absorbing most of the memory output, leaving less manufacturing capacity for other products. Suppliers raise contract prices when fabs are full, partners pass those costs through, and retail follows suit as restocks land at higher prices with fewer sales and options are available.

It is basic supply and demand. Until new fabrication capacity comes online or AI demand is satisfied, pressure persists, and RAM or SSD shortages can appear, concurrently with price increases.

Recent multi-billion-dollar hardware deals and long-term supply commitments in the AI sector lock in even more capacity:

• Nvidia to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and bring 10 GW of AI GPUs to data centers.
• Nvidia to invest $2 billion in xAI to lock a $20 billion deal for its own AI accelerators.
• Nvidia commits about $5 billion to Intel to develop AI hardware.
• OpenAI signed a new AI GPU supply deal with AMD.
• OpenAI and Broadcom signed an agreement for 10 GW of custom AI accelerators.

TL;DR

To summarize, analysts expect this DRAM upcycle to run into 2027. Beyond RAM, storage is getting pricier as Adata and Micron warned, and price hikes are filtering into devices that rely on memory and storage, including phones, laptops, consoles, handhelds, and GPUs, with Xiaomi already signaling the trend.

As a reminder, despite Nvidia’s long history in gaming GPUs, its primary revenue now comes from data centers. And price increases reach consumers gradually, since a graphics card passes through a long chain of companies before it reaches the shelf.

On November 5, DDR5 RAM prices in US retail hit a new high. The median price for a DDR5 2×16 GB kit is above $120, and for a 2×32 GB kit, above $200 now. In a little over a month, consumer RAM prices are up about 40%, with mainstream gaming kits affected the most, rising up to 70%.

The ongoing DRAM supercycle is driving retail price increases amid AI demand. Memory makers leave less manufacturing capacity for consumer RAM while simultaneously hiking prices. Contract costs of DRAM have been growing, inventories are emptying, and each price reset flows through distributors and OEMs before reaching consumers.

MoM change in DDR5 RAM retail median prices in the US, 2025

This is our second insight into consumer DDR5 RAM prices (see the first report here). With complete data, the final October increase came in higher than mid-month stats, because prices haven’t stopped rising, and early November shows no relief.

In October (compared to September), median DDR5 retail prices rose across all capacities: +19.6% for 2×8 GB, +31.5% for 2×16 GB, +32.9% for 2×32 GB, and +14.8% for 2×48 GB+, with the overall basket up 24.9%.

The November medians currently cover only the first five days; barring a reversal, the month-end percentages will be higher, as retail pricing continues to rise. Reversals are unlikely because not all manufacturer hikes have yet reached retail.

Current stats for November: +20.3% for 2×8 GB, +35.8% for 2×16 GB, +39.3% for 2×32 GB, and +30.2% for 2×48 GB+, bringing the overall month-to-date change to 34%.

There’s a bit of hope for big sales at the end of the month. Still, it’s likely to be offset by another round of hikes, so I wouldn’t wait to get a new RAM kit. Weekly trends are below.

Key points:

• Over the last 6 weeks, the median price of 2×8 GB DDR5 RAM kits has risen by 35%.
• The median price of 2×16 GB DDR5 RAM kits is up 55%.
• The median price of 2×32 GB DDR5 RAM kits is up 70%.
• About 15% of tracked SKUs went out of stock in the last three weeks.
• 2×8 GB capacity is rising the slowest, and new pricing filters through more gradually.
• Larger capacities have caught up, with 2×48 GB and 2×64 GB kit prices surging after hikes reached them.
• November figures are month-to-date and will be updated as new days are added.

There isn’t much to add when RAM has been rising by double-digit percentages weekly for several weeks in a row. It’s an alarming trend, and it isn’t slowing. There are no signs of the DRAM supercycle easing, as Micron and Adata warned about potential memory shortages.

Next, we turn to the daily median retail prices of DDR5 RAM in the US.

Daily median DDR5 RAM retail prices in US, 2025

The graphic speaks for itself, quick snapshot below:

• On January 1, a DDR5 RAM 2×8GB kit cost $67, a 2×16GB kit $90.20, and a 2×32GB kit $121.60.
• On September 1, a 2×8GB kit cost $71.70, a 2×16GB kit $95.20, and a 2×32GB kit $204.50.
• On October 15, a 2×8GB kit cost $81.70, a 2×16GB kit $128.30, and a 2×32GB kit $146.60.
• On November 1, a 2×8GB kit cost $108.30, a 2×16GB kit $183.90, and a 2×32GB kit $281.50.
• Lowest daily median price for 2×8GB kit: $53.50 on February 20.
• Highest daily median price for 2×8GB kit: $120.10 on November 5.
• Lowest daily median price for 2×16GB kit: $78 on February 16.
• Highest daily median price for 2×16GB kit: $200.80 on November 5.
• Lowest daily median price for 2×32GB kit: $99.70 on March 18.
• Highest daily median price for 2×32GB kit: $285.90 on November 5.

Essentially, DDR5 RAM prices for consumers doubled in less than a year, a repeat of the previous DRAM supercycle.

Why are the prices for PC hardware rising?

AI demand is soaking up memory production, especially HBM and server-grade DRAM, leaving less capacity for consumer DDR5 RAM. With factories running at capacity, suppliers raise contract prices, and channel partners pass those increases along. Retail adjusts accordingly: restocks arrive at higher costs, promo depth shrinks, and everyday tags move up.

From there, it’s basic supply and demand. When supply trails demand, prices climb until either output catches up or buyers step back. And a usual consumer can’t outbid a giant AI company. Until AI orders ease or new capacity comes online, expect continued upward pressure and occasional RAM and SSD shortages.

Recent examples of capital and supply commitments that drain memory capacity:

• Nvidia invests $2 billion in xAI, tied to an estimated $20 billion GPU supply arrangement.
• Nvidia commits about $5 billion to Intel CPUs.
• Nvidia may invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and bring 10 GW of AI GPUs.
• OpenAI signs a new GPU supply deal with AMD.
• Broadcom and OpenAI for 10 GW of custom AI accelerators.

As a reminder, analysts project the current DRAM supercycle to run into 2027, so prices will keep rising.

Beyond RAM, storage is set to get more expensive (AI to blame here, too). Adata and Micron already warned about it. And as OEM contracts expire, expect hikes in consumer and gaming devices that rely on memory and storage (smartphones, handhelds, consoles, laptops, GPUs, etc.). Precedent and similar warnings have already happened with new Xiaomi smartphones.

What’s next?

We’re still working on our price-tracking projects (launching soon) and analyzing the prices of other hardware components, with consumer SSD price analytics coming next week. The methodology is explained in detail in the previous RAM prices report.

Weeks after Windows 10’s support ended on October 14, the October 2025 Steam Hardware & Software Survey shows roughly a third of Windows PCs still haven’t moved to Windows 11, while macOS and Linux together saw a larger combined month-over-month gain than Windows 11.

Windows still dominates the OS mix on Steam, but the October snapshot shows an interesting shift: during last month, more users moved to Linux and macOS in aggregate than to Windows 11.

Overall, Windows sits at 94.84% (down 0.56% from September). Windows 11 reached 63.57% (up 0.53% compared to last month), while Windows 10 fell to 31.14% (with 1.04% drop), leaving roughly one in three Windows PCs on the older OS.

Outside Windows, Linux climbed to 3.05% (+0.37%), and macOS rose to 2.11% (+0.20%). Together, macOS and Linux posted a larger combined month-over-month gain than Windows 11 did, +0.57% vs +0.53%, respectively. It is also the first time Linux has reached this high, 3%, on Steam.

October’s survey results may suggest that Steam users who stayed on Windows 10 due to hardware limits or concerns about Windows 11 are now opting for alternatives. In total, more PC players moved to Linux and macOS combined than upgraded to Windows 11.

Windows 10 risks for PC gaming

Windows 10 reached the end of life on October 14, 2025. Still, a substantial share of Steam’s audience remained on it immediately after, which boosts security risk because routine patches and most consumer protections no longer arrive on PCs.

Extended security coverage is available for $30, but staying on Windows 10 now means greater exposure to various threats and an increased reliance on workarounds that do not replace proper OS updates.

Most PC games still run on Windows 10 for now, but the ecosystem is moving to Windows 11:

• Nvidia will provide full Game Ready and Studio drivers on Windows 10 through October 2026.
• Final Fantasy XIV ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025.
• Capcom no longer guarantees Monster Hunter World, Rise, or Wilds will work correctly on Windows 10.
• New game releases are moving toward Windows 11 (Battlefield 6 recommends using it and requires Secure Boot for anti-cheat to work, while Silent Hill f lists Windows 11 as the minimum requirement).

Why some gamers hesitate on Windows 11

Moving to Windows 11 is not frictionless either because of its hardware requirements (TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and a relatively new CPU). Many older gaming PCs and laptops fail those checks, pushing owners toward full hardware upgrades or new prebuilt systems.

That higher bar for requirements has driven the PC hardware market to new records in 2025 as consumers refreshed their rigs. The global PC gaming hardware market, including desktops, laptops, DIY components, and peripherals, is projected to grow 35% in 2025 to $44.5 billion.

Some users are hesitant to move to Windows 11 because Microsoft is forcing Copilot and other apps to install and launch on startup by default. On devices that already have Microsoft 365 desktop apps, the Microsoft 365 Copilot app auto-installs during this Fall.

Windows 11 gaming performance concerns

Gaming Copilot is integrated into Xbox Game Bar. During gaming or other active use, it collects various information (including voice) and captures screenshots to provide context for assistance and other uses. Microsoft states these images are not used to train models.

The overlay and capture services continue running in the background and consume CPU, GPU, and RAM, which can take a toll on the gaming performance, so many players turn these features off.

A separate support case describes how Game Bar incorrectly detects Microsoft Teams as a game and degrades performance until it is disabled, potentially creating overhead.

Several recent Windows 11 updates caused various technical problems; most were detected quickly and either rolled back or fixed, but the whole situation still caused significant user frustration.

Bloggers and reviewers repeatedly found Windows 11 trailing Linux on handhelds this year. Dave2D’s like-for-like tests on Lenovo’s Legion Go S showed SteamOS outperforming Windows in most games, a result echoed by Ars Technica’s Linux benchmarks for the new ROG Xbox Ally.

Taken together, these head-to-head comparisons point to higher Windows overhead on handheld hardware than on Linux-based SteamOS.

Summary

The trend is not a catastrophe for Microsoft. Windows still dominates PC gaming in general and Steam in particular, but the share of Windows 10 after its end-of-support period remains unusually high.

That leaves a large PC group running an unpatched OS, raising security concerns across the entire ecosystem. Combined with an older OS, in a worst-case scenario, an engine-level vulnerability like the recent Unity case could trigger a disastrous cyber incident.

Reluctance to adopt Windows 11 also reflects sentiment. Copilot ships by default, which some users consider bloatware, and Game Bar adds capture features with possible performance cost, so part of the audience is exploring alternatives.

October’s Steam data mirrors this shift: Windows 11 at 63.57% (+0.53%), Windows 10 at 31.14% (-1.04%), Linux at 3.05% (+0.37%), macOS at 2.11% (+0.20%), with Linux and macOS together having a greater influx of gamers month-over-month than Windows 11.

This ARC Raiders guide covers Scrappy upgrades from base to level 5 and shows how to complete every step in the Workshop. It lists exact requirements, the best spots to find each item, and simple farming loops across Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Spaceport, and Blue Gate that make Workshop upgrades faster in an extraction shooter.

Plan raids around specific materials, listed below. In ARC Raiders, track Train Scrappy to flag items, then use the safe pocket to bank found items in case extraction fails. Each section lists the best hotspots and container types for chicken upgrades in Embark’s extraction shooter.

Scrappy upgrades in ARC Raiders

In ARC Raiders, Scrappy upgrades are handled in the Workshop. Progression runs from the base pet (level 1, available from the get-go) to a cap at level 5, which is four upgrade steps in total. The first step begins once you find and extract a single Dog Collar. However, later tiers require a lot more items, which are hard to find.

Use the lists below to check which resources chicken needs for an upgrade before you queue a raid in ARC Raiders. Track the “Train Scrappy” objective so that required items are flagged and hard to miss during looting.

After you find the required items during the raid, stash what you lack most in the safe pocket (a usual feature for extraction shooters that saves items even if you fail to exfil).

• Level 2 Scrappy requirements: Dog Collar ×1.
• Level 3 Scrappy requirements: Lemon ×3, Apricot ×3.
• Level 4 Scrappy requirements: Prickly Pear ×6, Olive ×6, Cat Bed ×1.
• Level 5 Scrappy requirements: Apricot ×12, Mushroom ×12, Very Comfortable Pillow ×3.

These requirements apply to the current build of the game and may change if the following patches for the extraction shooter rebalance Workshop. In that case, this guide will be updated with additional info.

The next block explains where to find each item with specific hotspots for all ARC Raiders maps, screenshots, and additional tips on events and locations.

Where to find Dog Collar in ARC Raiders

The Dog Collar is a blue rarity item that unlocks Scrappy’s level 2 upgrade in the Workshop. It spawns in all kinds of generic containers and a few specialized ones, and can also be found on shelves and furniture outside of containers.

The best way to find the Dog Collar is to visit the Residential locations on the Dam Battlegrounds and Buried City maps. In the Workshop, enable tracking for the train Scrappy objective to mark the collar with an eye icon.

For Dam Battlegrounds, you need to visit Pale Apartments, Ruby Residense, and Pattern House locations. They clustered near Victory Ridge, the northwest part of the map. Inside the houses, check every shelf and container.

For Buried City, there are a lot more targets to loot, but combat is more likely, too. Essentially, half of the map is Residential areas, and the districts you have to visit are the West Village and Old Town. Skip pharmacies and cafes on the 1st floors and look for usual living quarters.

You can also choose to go into Night Raid (high-risk, high-reward mode of the extraction shooter), if available, for better chances of rare loot (the collar included), but danger will be increased proportionally.

Work in Residential areas methodically rather than sprinting between distant points. Enter the apartments, check everything for the Dog Collar, then move to the next doorway on the same block. If you do not see a collar after a full sweep, extract or rotate to another Residential cluster and repeat.

When you find the collar, if you’re not using a free loadout, place it in the safe pocket so you don’t lose it if a raid goes south. For now, ARC Riders requires only the collar for level 2 Scrappy.

Where to find Lemons and Apricots in ARC Raiders

For Scrappy’s level 3 Workshop upgrade in ARC Raiders, you need three Lemons and three Apricots. They are considered Nature-type loot, which is both rare and place- or event-specific. Nature items can only be found on and near plants or during a special event.

Firstly, before discussing loot spots, we highly recommend choosing a map with the Lush Blooms event. This event multiplies Nature loot and adds a new container, the Wicker Basket, which usually holds a couple of dozen different Nature items.

Looting plants

A slower but more reliable method is looting plants/trees. A few fruits spawn around them, and you can interact with trees to knock off 1-3 more on the ground. The best way to find Lemons and Apricots is to visit the Nature locations on the Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, and Speceport maps.

For Dam Battlegrounds, you need to visit Red Lakes part of the map. You have to go to southern hill with Raider Hatch across the Red Lakes Balcony. A few Lemon and Apricot trees are waiting for you there. You probably won’t have all the required items in a single raid, but it’s one of the safest spots.

For Buried City, the trees are placed right in the middle of the map, in Marano Park. You can get there fast, but so is everyone else, and there’s also a big enemy ARC around (Bastion, Leaper, or Bombardier). Extraction is also placed right there, so you can keep trying to get Lemons and Apricots with a free loadout.

For Spaceport, go to the bottom of the map, to the southeast part of La Chiesa. Your target is the Staff Parking area, where 4-6 fruit plants are placed in a row. If you’re lucky, you can get all the required Lemons and Aprikots in a single run, but if you’re spawned in the middle of the raid on the opposite side of the map, there’s a high chance the place will already be looted before you arrive.

Looting baskets

The luck-dependent method is looting Wicker Baskets during the Lush Blooms event.

On Dam Battlegrounds, you need to go to Victory Ridge part of the map. The first target is the Hydroponic Dome Complex, where, during the event, baskets can spawn in every dome, so you have to check them all. After that, you need to head to the unnamed ruins north of the Hydroponic Dome Complex, where a few more baskets may appear (marked in the screenshot below).

On Buried City, there are more baskets, but they spawn rather randomly. You’re interested in the cafes and restaurants on the ground floors of buildings (usually in the Residential areas we discussed in the collar section, West Village and Old Town). Baskets also spawn in the northern part of the New District, where you’ll need to check every corner. Overall, there are plenty of Wicker Baskets, but they can be harder to find, and the PvP density is higher.

Where to find Prickly Pears, Olives, and a Cat Bed in ARC Raiders

Scrappy level 4 needs two Nature stacks (six Prickly Pears and six Olives) and one indoor Trinket, Cat Bed. Nature items can still be looted from plants or from Wicker Baskets. The basket method for Dam Battlegrounds and Buried City maps from the previous section on Lemons and Apricots remains unchanged.

Other Nature items, including Prickly Pears and Olives, can still be found in baskets, so we instead focus on plant spots.

How to get Prickly Pears in ARC Raiders

Unlike other trees, you can’t interact with cacti to spawn more Prickly Pears; you only have to check the ground around. The preferred way to get pears is to loot from both plants and baskets during Lush Blooms, since you need 6.

On Dam Battlegrounds, head to the north side of the Pattern House and work the cactus lines, checking around each plant and along the ground. After that, head north on the road fork from the Hydroponic Dome Complex near the unnamed ruins; there is another big cacti spot. Another spots are located near Raider Outpost East and right on Raider Hatch across the Red Lakes Balcony.

On Buried City, run to the center of the southern edge of the map (bottom of the Old Town), location shown in the screenshot below. There is a giant patch of cacti, and you are likely to compete for fruits with other players.

How to get Olives in ARC Raiders

Olives work just like Lemons and Aprikots, and are generally easier to collect, but with a catch, that you have to visit Blue Gate, the hardest map for now.

On Blue Gate, go to the Farm Lands part of the map. Your target is Olive Grove, where, even with little luck, you can collect all 6 Olives in a single run (interact with trees and look on the ground near them). Very close to the grove, northwest, Raider Hatch is placed for fast extraction.

How to get Cat Bed in ARC Raiders

Once again, check the Residential areas, the method from the Dog Collar part works perfectly for the Cat Bed too, because it’s a Residential item. Cat Bed also has the Commercial tag, which helps to find in Spaceport.

On Dam Battlegrounds: Pale Apartments, Ruby Residense, and Pattern House locations, with the addition of the Research and Administration building (be wary of other Raiders).

On Buried City: West Village and Old Town, with the addition of Library and Space Travel locations (high chance of PvP).

Since you’re more geared and experienced at this point in the game, the other good option is the Spaceport map. Your target is the Arrival Building and the Departure Building. There are tons of high-value loot, so be ready for tense PvP encounters.

Methodically check every generic container and shelf in each house and apartment until you find the Trinket. Choosing the Night Raid option helps here, too.

Where to find Mushrooms and Pillows in ARC Raiders

For maximum Scrappy upgrade, level 5, you need to collect 12 Aprikots, 12 mushrooms, and 3 Very Comfortable Pillows.

The Apricost instruction is in the block above, so let’s focus on Mushrooms first. It’s another type of Nature loot, but trickier to find. They can be on living or fallen trees, on trunks, or even on the ground in random spots. And, as usual for Nature-type loot, in Wicker Baskets during the Lush Blooms event.

How to get Mushrooms in ARC Raiders

Getting 12 Mushrooms is probably the hardest part of leveling up Scrappy.

On Dam Battlegrounds, go to the Hydroponic Dome Complex. Start inside the dome and scan the edges of stagnant pools, then circle the exterior perimeter. After that, check nearby fallen trees and trunks, as caps can grow here. When you’re done exploring domes and the surrounding area, you can check other parts of the Swamp. While it’s slow and inefficient, you still may find a lot of shrooms while simply going to the closest extraction point.

On Blue Gate, run to Trapper’s Glade in the Forest. There are many living trees with Mushrooms, plus some baskets, during the nature event. Nothing to add here, it’s just a forest filled with shroms, ARC enemies (including potential Rocketeer), and other Raiders, who will also want Mushrooms. Be ready for fights.

How to get Very Comfortable Pillow in ARC Raiders

Pillows come from Residential and Commercial areas, so the same steps and places as the Cat Bed in the previous section.

• On Dam Battlegrounds: Pale Apartments, Ruby Residense, Pattern House, and Research and Administration.
• On Buried City: West Village, Old Town, Library, and Space Travel.
• On Spaceport: Arrival Building and Departure Building.

Search every shelf and standard container in each house and apartment until the Trinket appears. Choosing the Night Raid variant helps.

ARC Raiders guides

For now, our ARC Raiders guides include the PC system requirements and a best settings guide.

Next, we will focus on early ARC Raiders quest walkthroughs and item and looting tips.

About Arc Raiders

ARC Raiders is a third-person PvPvE extraction shooter from Embark Studios, the team behind The Finals and staffed by Battlefield veterans. It launched globally on October 30, 2025, on Windows PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The standard edition is $39.99, and the deluxe is $59.99. On Steam, it reached 154,731 concurrent players in its first three hours. Unusual for both extraction shooters and Unreal Engine 5 titles, ARC Raiders has perfect optimization.

The developers recently published a detailed roadmap for 2025, and the game hit 350,000 concurrent players on Steam.

Embark frames progression around an optional wipe system called the Expedition Project. It functions as a seasonal prestige-style reset you trigger yourself, while cosmetics and account entitlements persist between cycles.

Arc Raiders on PC runs surprisingly well, which is unusual for a modern extraction shooter or a game on Unreal Engine 5, and the game requires accessible hardware. This guide covers the official Arc Raiders system requirements, including the minimum and recommended specs, explains what they imply for real performance, and prives best Arc Raiders settings at the end.

If you want a stable 60 FPS or a competitive high-FPS setup, start with our “Best Arc Raiders Settings for FPS and image clarity” block.

Arc Raiders is a third-person PvPvE extraction shooter from Embark Studios (creators of The Finals), released on October 30, 2025, for PC (Steam/Epic), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Squads raid hostile zones to fight ARC robots and extract loot, with optional progression resets via the Expedition Project.

You will find the minimum requirements for Arc Raiders on PC and the recommended requirements. Below, we translate those specs into practical targets and the best settings for Arc Raiders on PC. You will get clear presets for 1080p and 1440p, advice on when to use DLSS, FSR, XeSS, or TSR, and which UE5 options move the FPS counter most.

Arc raiders: Minimum PC Requirements

The minimum requirements for Arc Raiders on PC are straightforward and fairly forgiving (especially for a UE5 game): Windows 10 or later, an Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 CPU, 12 GB of RAM, and a GPU at the GTX 1050 Ti / RX 580 / Arc A380 tier.

That’s an older quad-core Intel or a first-gen 6-core Ryzen baseline, 4-8 GB of VRAM depending on the graphics card, and a relatively small 33 GB install (size can depend on your PC, but this is still modest compared to other popular current games).

Listing AMD Radeon and Intel Arc alongside Nvidia at minimum signals the game is validated across all vendor driver stacks (including Arc, which is especially nice). Windows 10 support (despite Win10 end-of-life) keeps older rigs in play—this is logical, given that the minimum specs list almost 10-year-old hardware (but the game is still more CPU-bound, expected for UE5) and third of Steam users are still on Windows 10.

The 33 GB install size is unusually lean for a large online shooter, suggesting optimized asset compression and streaming. Add the modest CPU floor and entry GPUs, and you’re looking at a highly compatible, well-optimized game. This is fantastic for both extraction shooters and games on Unreal Engine 5.

In practice, this floor points to 1080p at low settings with careful expectations around 30 FPS. About 12 GB RAM—the game is essentially optimized for mid-range laptops from 2018 and earlier, when, due to the DRAM supercycle, trimmed memory options were popular.

Even though HDDs aren’t ruled out, installing on an SSD helps avoid asset-streaming hitches standard to UE5 titles, and keeping GPU drivers up to date will matter for stability (the game warns you if you need to update the driver).

Arc raiders: recommended PC Requirements

At medium targets, the recommended hardware list: same 33 GB size and Windows 10 or later, a Core i5-9600K or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB RAM, and an RTX 2070 / RX 5700 XT / Arc B570-class GPU. A modern 6-core CPU baseline with a late-2019 mid-range graphics card.

This is still below expectations for the UE5 game and is accessible to most PC players, according to Steam’s hardware survey. Expect 1080p High at a steady 60 FPS and workable 1440p High with an upscaler. Pushing 120+ FPS will usually require dialing back a few heavier options. We will discuss this in the next chapter.

For a UE5 project, this is lean: a 6-core CPU, practically standard for gaming, 16 GB of system memory, and mid-range GPUs with 8 GB of VRAM. While this isn’t listed, SSDs at this level are kind of expected for game stability and short loading times.

Again, naming Nvidia, AMD, and Intel equivalents signals that the game is optimized for the full driver stack, and Windows 10 support signals that Windows 11-only CPU pipelines aren’t necessary to run the game.

Arc Raiders settings

Display settings in Arc Raiders

Window Mode

Exclusive Fullscreen can cause ALT-TAB/VSync issues in UE5 DX12. Borderless/Windowed Fullscreen is usually smoother with overlays and VRR. Use Exclusive only if you need the lowest input latency and it’s stable on your setup (not relevant for Windows 11).

VSync

If you have G-Sync/FreeSync, leave VSync Off in-game and cap your FPS 2-3 frames below your monitor’s refresh rate. No VRR? Turn VSync On to prevent tearing, and cap FPS a few frames below refresh to keep input lag down and pacing smooth.

Nvidia Reflex Low Latency

Turn Reflex on; it shortens the render queue and usually makes it feel snappier at any framerate, beneficial for shooters. Use On + Boost when your GPU tends to downclock. If you enable DLSS Frame Generation, Reflex should be enabled.

Resolution Scaling & Anti-Aliasing in Arc Raiders

Upscaled Resolution

This slider changes the output (UI/post-process) resolution. If you’re using DLSS/FSR/XeSS/TSR, leave Upscaled Resolution at 100% and scale only with the upscaler to avoid double-scaling blur. If you’re not using an upscaler, 85-90% is a good range to get a few extra frames with minimal softening.

Resolution Scaling Method

• DLSS (Nvidia GPUs only): best mix of clarity/performance on GeForce.
• FSR: universal; quality varies by implementation.
• XeSS: good on Arc; decent on others.
• TRS: built-in upscaler from Unreal; same as FRS, quality varies.

Upscaler Quality Mode

• Quality (~0.67 scale): best image, mild FPS gain; ideal at 1440p.
• Balanced (~0.59): bigger FPS boost, slight sharpness loss; good for older and budget hardware.
• Performance (~0.5): use for 4K or entry-level GPUs.

DLSS Frame Generation (RTX 40- and 50-series GPUs only)

Only use for achieving 144+ FPS on 4K.

General graphics settings in Arc Raiders

Field of View

Whatever suits you. A wider FOV renders a wider scene and provides better awareness, while a smaller FOV helps with precise shooting. An FOV above standard can significantly change GPU load.

Motion Blur

Purely aesthetic (to hide render imperfections); disable for clarity and lower post-process cost.

Ray Tracing (RTX Global Illumination)

Set Static at first. If the game runs perfectly and doesn’t push your GPU to its limit, you can experiment with this setting later.

Graphics quality settings in Arc Raiders

Overall Quality Level

A master preset. Start with Medium or High, then tune the settings below.

View Distance

CPU + GPU + texture streaming. Controls how far objects/LOD/lighting are evaluated. Big open areas make this setting expensive. Medium is the best value; push to High only if pop-in bothers you and you have headroom.

Anti-Aliasing

Post-processing. Affects TAA quality/sharpening when not using an upscaler. With DLSS/FSR/XeSS active, you should push Anti-Aliasing higher.

Shadows

Heavy GPU settings. Resolution/cascades/contact shadows. Drop to Medium for sizeable gains with modest visual loss. Low can cause lurchy shadow transitions.

Post-Processing

Covers bloom, depth of field, ambient occlusion, film grain, and CA. Medium is clean; turn off only the sub-effects that bother you if the game exposes them. Turning the whole block to Low is an easy way to get a few extra frames.

Texture

VRAM-bound settings. Doesn’t affect FPS if you stay within the VRAM budget; High for modern 8 GB GPUs is totally fine. Also, if you used an HDD, tune to Low.

Effects

GPU-bound setting. Particles/explosions/weather. Medium for stability, Low if you get FPS dips during heavy effects.

Reflections

Extremely GPU-heavy. SSR is costly and noisy at low internal resolutions. Keep at Low or Medium; Low if using Performance upscaling modes.

Foliage

GPU + CPU + memory. Vegetation density and LOD. Medium is usually the sweet spot for modern mid-range systems. Low for competitive clarity and fewer shader swaps.

Global Illumination Resolution

GPU/texture streaming. Controls GI probe/voxel/card detail (implementation-dependent). Medium balances quality with traversal stability. Lower it if you notice dips in FPS when turning quickly.

Best Arc Raiders Settings for FPS and image clarity

This preset is for stable FPS and a good picture, suited for lower-mid-range builds. Use DLSS or FSR at Quality and keep Upscaled Resolution at 100%; VSync Off if you have G-Sync/FreeSync; Nvidia Reflex should be On, and cap FPS a few frames below your refresh rate.

• Nvidia RTX Global Illumination: Static.
• View Distance: Epic.
• Anti-Aliasing: Epic.
• Shadows: Low.
• Post-Processing: Medium.
• Texture: High.
• Effects: Medium.
• Reflections: Low.
• Foliage: Low.
• Global Illumination Resolution: Medium.

If VRAM is under 8 GB, drop Texture to Medium; if the CPU reaches 100% load and Arc Raiders stutters, move View Distance to High before cutting other settings.

How to fix Arc Raiders stuttering

The most resource-heavy settings in UE5 are texture resolution and lighting/shadow quality. Switch an upscaler (DLSS/FSR/XeSS) to Balanced if issues occur with the previous preset before changing anything else, while still keeping “Upscaled Resolution” at 100% to avoid double-scaling blur.

If you enabled Ray Tracing, switch it back to Static. Shadows are the next big sink, so it’s sensible to drop to Low. Reflections are also costly; switch to Low if you had it set to Medium or High before. Leave motion blur off for clarity; it doesn’t save many frames, but it removes the smear that makes low internal resolutions look worse.

The next tier of settings is about headroom and stability. Textures are VRAM-bound: keep them as high as your card’s memory allows, but step down a notch if you see streaming hitches; install the game on an SSD to keep texture pulls smooth.

View Distance and Foliage affect both GPU and CPU. If you had Foliage set to anything other than Low, switch it to Low. While keeping View Distance at Epic is good for Arc Raiders gameplay, if you start seeing 100% CPU load and stuttering, turn it down a tier and see how it affects the problem.

Post-processing can sit at Medium without gutting image quality and having a significant impact on hardware, but you can switch it to Low to save a few frames, too. Cap FPS a few frames below your display’s refresh rate for steady frametimes. Use Reflex On; having better input latency is always useful in extraction shooters such as Arc Raiders.

Also, please, update your GPU driver.

About Arc Raiders

Arc Raiders is a third-person PvPvE extraction shooter from Embark Studios (the team behind The Finals and Battlefield veterans) that launched globally on October 30, 2025, for Windows PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

It’s sold at $39.99 for the standard edition and $59.99 for the deluxe, and hit 154,731 concurrent Steam players in its first three hours. Unusual both for extraction shooters and for games on Unreal Engine 5, Arc Raiders has perfect optimization.

Pre-launch interest was intense, and the October 17-19 Server Slam peaked at 189,668 concurrent players on Steam. The studio also picked up free visibility when “Arc Raiders” was briefly censored in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta chat, which Embark turned into a successful viral promotion.

Embark has framed progression around an optional wipe system called the Expedition Project: seasonal, prestige-style resets you trigger yourself; cosmetics and account entitlements persist between cycles.