Over the past week, a number of leaks have pointed towards a near-term launch for the Steam Controller, one of three new hardware products that Valve announced in late 2025. 

According to Japanese site, 4Gamer, the Steam Controller is going to launch on May 4th. It would appear that embargo timing was miscommunicated as around a similar time, a tech reviews channel, Techy Talk, uploaded an embargo-breaking review of the controller. Both the initial review and launch article have since been taken down, but the news already spread via community forums and outlets like Insider Gaming.

In the now deleted Steam Controller review, it was also claimed that the controller will cost $99.99 and size comparisons showed it to be very large compared to Xbox and PlayStation controllers.

As the announcement seems to have been delayed somewhere along the way, there is a chance that the Steam Controller doesn't launch on May 4th, but that was likely the plan at one point in the recent past. Valve itself has uploaded a secret Steam Controller unboxing video that it is waiting to unveil to the public.

The big question remains – will the Steam Machine or Steam Frame ship alongside the controller? Valve initially planned to launch all three products in a close timeframe, as they all share the same ecosystem and are designed to work together. However, in recent months, the consumer memory chip market has seen a tight squeeze, leading to hefty price increases. This ultimately led to Valve delaying its new hardware rollout to later in the year but the exact timing has remained unspecified.

KitGuru Says: At the very least, I would like to see the Steam Machine and Steam Controller launching at the same time, but as long as the Steam Controller remains in good supply whenever the Steam Machine does drop, then it won't be a huge issue. 

Yet another reliable rumor suggests Microsoft may lower the price of its Game Pass subscription service. Yesterday, we reported Jez Corden's claim that Microsoft may be considering dropping this year's new Call of Duty game from Game Pass. Today, The Verge's Tom Warren has shared the content of a leaked internal memo penned by new Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma. According to Warren, Sharma made it clear to Xbox employees that there will have to be structural changes to Game Pass: Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox. It’s also clear that the current model isn’t the final […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/game-pass-price-drop-soon-leaked-memo/

The memory industry saw a rollercoaster ride in the past few weeks following the debut of Google's TurboQuant, but the idea of shortages being over is seen as a "misinterpretation", to say the least. Google's TurboQuant Isn't Slowing Down the Memory Supercycle At All; the Demand Will Stay For Several Quarters With DDR prices coming down over the past few days, we did discuss the role of Google's TurboQuant algorithm; however, tying it to the end of memory shortages was a mere misperception, according to The Financial Times' latest report. Following the blog post about TurboQuant, we saw a huge […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/googles-turboquant-made-everyone-panic-about-memory-demand/

While memory shortages have been a problem for almost everyone, Samsung and other businesses have started to see revenue figures that would've never been anticipated a few years ago. Samsung's DRAM Business Alone Has Managed To Achieve $37 Billion In Q1, And The Growth Won't Stop Here DRAM has become a commodity in the AI industry, in high demand, and suppliers like Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron are unable to meet customer requirements, driving a wider shortage across the supply chain. With that, a report by Counterpoint Research has talked about Samsung's Q1 financial results, but the interesting parallel drawn […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsung-memory-business-alone-is-now-more-profitable-than-amazon-meta-and-microsoft/

The PC industry is entering a 'tough period', as IDC warns that the upcoming quarters could be very difficult for both vendors and customers, due to the current market conditions. PC Shipments Did See a Modest Growth In Q1, Driven By Buyer Interest to Get Protection From the Upcoming Price Hikes The consumer market has been difficult to navigate for the past few months, as shortages of key components like CPUs, GPUs, memory, and SSDs have prompted retailers to hike prices, giving the impression that the shortages have been factored in. However, OEMs have now held off on price hikes […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/the-real-test-for-pc-buyers-starts-this-quarter/

A couple of weeks ago, AMD officially announced the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor, combining two stacks of 3D V-Cache in one chip. This is going to be AMD's top-end Ryzen desktop processor, so we expected it to be expensive, but the exact cost remained elusive. That changed this week with AMD revealing an $899 price tag. 

In a tweet this afternoon, David McAfee, AMD's VP and GM of Ryzen, confirmed that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 will launch on April 22nd with an $899 price tag. As PCGamer points out, this is $200 higher than the launch price for the standard Ryzen 9 9950X3D.

The Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 stands out thanks to its dual 3D V-Cache design, providing 208MB of high-speed on-chip cache, the most ever put into a Ryzen processor. The additional cache means more game data and more assets can sit right next to the CPU cores, providing speedy access with dramatically reduced latency.

This all should lead to performance improvements in both gaming and content creation tasks, but AMD says it will “really shine” in other demanding workflows like simulations, 3D rendering, large software builds, AI models, and game engine compiles, positioning this CPU as a workstation-class chip, rather than a gaming one.

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KitGuru Says: Are you considering a Ryzen 9 9950X3D2? 

Amid cries of a decline in the memory industry, supply chain reports suggest that hyperscalers are locking into long-term contracts with suppliers to secure a consistent supply. Hyperscalers Are Willing To 'Risk It All' to Secure DRAM Supply, Even Entering Into Contracts That Could Backfire The memory markets entered an interesting phase over the past few weeks, as 'widespread' panic among retailers and some elements of the supply chain led them to believe that the release of Google's TurboQuant compression algorithm would end the supercycle. This resulted not just in a wider selloff in memory stock capitalization, but also, at […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/ai-giants-are-entering-into-years-long-memory-contracts-proving-to-be-the-best-case-scenario-for-suppliers/

Intel is reportedly preparing extensive price hikes for its consumer CPU lineup this year, at a time when the firm's offering started to look a bit better with the newer Core Ultra 200S Plus SKUs. Intel's CPU Price Hikes Could Go Up To 30% This Year Alone, Driven By Enterprise Demand CPU shortages are a new trouble brewing for gamers that has arrived with the AI infrastructure buildout, and sadly enough, the effects are already being seen in the retail market. In a recent report, we discussed how the debut of Intel's Arrow Lake Refresh CPUs came with a price […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/just-as-intels-cpus-make-a-comeback-with-arrow-lake-refresh-new-round-of-price-hikes-might-put-them-out-of-reach-for-gamers/

According to French content creator Gyo, retailers have been alerted to an imminent price hike across Sony's entire PlayStation console family, including PS5 Slim, PS5 Pro, and PS Portal. The prices of both the Slim and the Pro would increase by €100, with a higher percentage increase for the former, while the handheld cloud-powered PS Portal would be priced €30 higher than the current price. Here's a table comparing the current and rumored pricing: Console Current EU MSRP Rumoured New Price Increase % Hike PS5 Slim Digital Edition €499.99 — — — PS5 Slim Disc Edition €549.99 €649.99 +€100 +18.2% […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/ps5-ps5-pro-ps-portal-console-might-get-more-expensive/

The memory industry is now witnessing a major shift, as DRAM suppliers are now looking to lock in customers into 'multi-year' contracts, essentially guaranteeing demand. Samsung Entering Into Long-Term Contracts Means Shortages Might Last Till The End of the Decade It appears that the demand for memory products among Big Tech is so massive that they are willing to take the risk of entering long-term agreements with suppliers like Samsung and Micron, which is seen as a rather 'untraditional' move within the industry. A report by the Korean media outlet EBN reveals that hyperscalers are entering into long-term memory contracts […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/big-tech-is-paying-billions-to-lock-in-memory-supply/

Samsung is reportedly looking for customers eager to enter into 'multi-year' memory contracts by offering a slight discount at the outset. Samsung Intends to Lock In DRAM Supply For Several Years, Likely to Prevent Overinvestments The memory industry has been experiencing an unprecedented demand cycle over the past few quarters, as enterprise demand is through the roof, pushing DRAM contract prices to new levels. While suppliers are immensely benefiting from the current situation, there are concerns that the aggressive demand will end. To ensure the cycle's volatility doesn't affect suppliers more, Samsung is reportedly locking suppliers into surprise three- and […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/samsung-is-luring-customers-with-a-slight-discount-into-five-year-contracts/

Suppliers like Samsung and SK hynix are planning to take a rather 'cautious' approach to their DRAM plans, as they see a risk of oversupply, according to a report. Samsung Expects The DRAM Supercycle To Fade Away By 2028, Which Is Why It is Being Cautious With Investments The DRAM shortages are intensifying each quarter, and this is clearly evident in how contract prices are evolving aggressively, with a triple-digit increase that is beyond shocking. While manufacturers like SK hynix and Samsung are currently capitalizing on unprecedented demand, they are also cautious about expanding output. Chosun Biz reports that Samsung […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/memory-suppliers-are-actually-worried-the-demand-boom-wont-last-too-long/

Memory shortages aren't looking to slow down anytime soon, and now, according to Counterpoint Research, the prospect of prices returning to normal is gloomy. Memory Shortages Could Last Up To H2 2027, And They Could Extend Even Further If Supply Remains Tight There is no definite timeline for when we can expect DRAM shortages to ease, but the only way to predict it is by looking at how demand is evolving over time. And, when you look at the current pace of the AI infrastructure buildout, you'll realize that memory demand isn't slowing down anytime soon, which is why Counterpoint […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/there-is-no-scenario-where-memory-prices-will-drop-anytime-soon/

Samsung's NAND supply is now expected to see a significant price hike, as the Korean giant, like DRAM, plans to capitalize entirely on demand from the AI sector. NAND Prices Are Getting Out of Control, And It Could Have Devastating Impacts on the PC Market The PC industry is set to face another crisis from memory suppliers, and after being disrupted by AI customers' demand for DRAM, it appears NAND is next. According to a report by the Korean media outlet Sedaily, Samsung now plans to hike prices by a whopping 100% in Q2, following a similar hike in Q1. […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/the-nand-price-crisis-is-getting-worse/

Phison's model, with NAND market supply, has now shifted to securing capital upfront from customers as the company navigates a seller's market. NAND Prices Have Climbed a Whopping 500% In Last Year Alone, Driven By AI-Demand The NAND industry is also experiencing a significant imbalance in supply lines, as the role of storage in AI inference has increased dramatically over the past few months. We have already seen NAND spot prices climb significantly over the past few quarters, and for suppliers like Phison, the situation has started to bite into their profit margins. According to a DigiTimes report, Phison is […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/phison-shifts-nand-supply-to-prepayment-model/

PC manufacturers won't find it viable to offer hardware to gamers at 'entry-level' prices, as memory costs have reached unprecedented levels. Gartner Says That Manufacturers Have No Option Left Other Than Raising PC Prices to Adjust to Rising Memory Costs DRAM shortages have impacted several consumer-focused industries, but the consequences for the PC industry are the most disruptive. We have seen hardware prices soar to new heights, product launches delayed, and inventory levels drop rapidly across retail markets, all because the memory supply isn't enough to meet demand. A new Gartner market report reveals that PC shipments are expected to […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/entry-level-pc-segment-will-disappear-by-2028/

Samsung and SK hynix have reportedly started issuing contract prices for the upcoming quarters to customers, and the price increases are gigantic. DRAM Prices Have Almost Grown By 3 to 4 Times Since Q4 2025, And the Situation Is Worsening With Each Day When we talk about DRAM contract prices, it is important to note that, given the memory market's shift to a 'seller-dominated' market, DRAM quotations are now revised quarterly for large-scale customers. For smaller buyers, prices change within days, making it almost impossible for them to procure supplies. In the latest report by the Korean media outlet Sedaily, […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/the-new-memory-prices-for-q2-are-so-absurd-that-buyers-might-find-it-better-to-give-up/