SK Hynix has reportedly informed employees in an internal meeting that the company now forecasts the tight memory supply to last through 2028 for the commodity DRAM segment. The forecast covers DDR5/DDR4, GDDR6/GDDR7, and LPDDR5x/LPDDR6, which are fundamental components in modern PCs and game consoles. With these mainstream memory types expected to remain constrained, the company signaled that millions of gamers could be exposed to a significant increase in memory prices over the next several years.
According to the company’s outlook, as memory supplier inventories deplete, production capacity will not increase to meet demand as it has in the past. This represents a notable shift from the traditional behavior of memory manufacturers, who typically ramp up capacity in response to rising demand in order to stabilize prices and ensure supply. The decision not to follow the historical pattern suggests a more cautious and tightly managed approach to commodity DRAM output, which could prolong high pricing and limited availability for consumer hardware.
SK Hynix emphasized that the constrained forecast does not apply to its most advanced memory solutions, specifically HBM and SOCAMM. These product lines are expected to receive additional capacity expansion, and tight supply is not anticipated to impact this part of the DRAM supply chain. The company noted that HBM and SOCAMM are already in high demand, in part because they are consumed in higher volume than regular commodity DRAM due to their integration into Artificial Intelligence products such as GPUs and servers.
