In recent years, gamers have become accustomed to seeing stocks disappear within hours, prices rise without warning, and some graphics cards become veritable collector's items. The cause? A semiconductor crisis that has disrupted the entire industry, from high-end GPUs to home consoles.
This is no ordinary, temporary slowdown. The supply chain difficulties that arose during the pandemic have had far more far-reaching consequences. In 2025, however, the situation is less tense than during the most difficult years. But it continues to impact the ways in which products are designed, produced, and distributed.
A shortage that is no coincidence
The reason the market is still under pressure lies in the depth of the specificities of each processor or graphics chip. The logic of semiconductor production relies on factories that are as specialized as possible and that are capable of engraving components a few nanometers thick. At this stage, only a few, perhaps three, can dominate this very narrow market: TSMC in Taiwan, Samsung in Korea, and, less privileged, Intel in the United States.
When the market suffered a shock, it was abruptly warned that some semiconductor production lines would be shut down due to the nature of the lockdowns imposed in France in 2020. The shock had barely sunk in when the market was already having to respond to exponential demand: teleworking, the acceleration of home video games, electric vehicles, cloud servers... everyone wanted more chips, right now. As a result, every sector began to fight for the same components.
Added to this were occasional events that disrupted the game: a fire at a factory in Japan, droughts in Taiwan that limited access to the ultra-pure water needed for engraving, and geopolitical tensions that slowed down some deliveries. This combination transformed a simple supply tension into a real global headache.
Graphics cards sold at a high price
For PC gamers, the most visible consequence has been the price explosion. High-end Nvidia and AMD cards have sometimes doubled in value compared to their launch prices. Between 2021 and 2023, finding an RTX 3000 or 4000 series at a normal price was almost a miracle.
Even in 2025, the traces are still there. Take the RTX 5090 released in late 2024: during its first three months, it was almost impossible to find. The few available units were selling for more than 30% above the official price on resale sites. Patient gamers eventually got their hands on it, but often after weeks of waiting.
Consoles haven't been spared. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, already hard to find at launch, continue to experience occasional shortages of certain limited editions. Manufacturers have even had to redesign some series to use more readily available components.
The industry is reinventing itself
Faced with a prolonged crisis, manufacturers have taken the lead. Investments in new factories are increasing. Intel is building production facilities in Europe and the United States, and TSMC is opening sites in Japan and Arizona. The goal is clear: reduce dependence on a few Asian sites and secure supply.
While waiting for these factories to operate at full capacity, manufacturers are leveraging other levers. Some are redesigning their products to integrate more accessible chips. Others are optimizing their processes to better manage available volumes. Distributors, for their part, have adopted pre-orders and virtual queues to limit speculation and prevent inventories from disappearing in a matter of minutes.
For those who don't have a high-end PC or a state-of-the-art graphics card, free casino slot games represent an interesting alternative. These titles, often accessible directly from a browser or mobile app, require very little hardware resources. They can offer polished graphics and smooth animations while remaining playable on modest configurations. It's a way to enjoy a gaming experience without investing in expensive hardware, especially at a time when high-end hardware is expensive and hard to find.
And for the players?
For hardware enthusiasts, this period requires a bit of strategy. Jumping into a product the day it's released can be risky, both for your wallet and your nerves. Waiting a few months often allows you to get a more reasonable price and a more stable inventory.
In the meantime, it's possible to optimize your current hardware. Technologies like DLSS or AMD's FSR extend a card's lifespan by improving performance without sacrificing visual quality. The second-hand market can also be a good option, provided you check the hardware's provenance and condition, especially if it's been used for mining.
This semiconductor crisis has at least one merit: it serves as a reminder that hardware is the product of a complex and fragile global supply chain. Until new infrastructures are fully operational, we'll have to deal with a sometimes limited supply. But with a little patience and vigilance, it's still possible to stay up to date... without completely emptying our bank accounts.
