If you've been holding off on a GPU upgrade waiting for NVIDIA's next architecture, the leaks circulating this month aren't encouraging — though exactly how discouraging depends on which leaker you believe.
Two Leakers, Two Timelines
Hardware leaker Kepler_L2 claims both NVIDIA's RTX 60-series and the bulk of AMD's RDNA 5 lineup won't appear until 2028, with only AMD's AT2 GPU arriving in 2027 ahead of the rest of the stack. No specific reasoning was given for the 2028 push.
Moore's Law Is Dead (MLID) offers a different timeline with more context behind it: the RTX 60-series was reportedly on track for a 2026 launch before shifting to 2027, driven by NVIDIA wanting AI accelerator production to claim as much TSMC manufacturing capacity as possible this year rather than splitting it with a new consumer architecture.
Both leakers have a mixed track record and have disagreed with each other before, so treat either specific year as speculation rather than a confirmed roadmap — but the fact that two independently-sourced leaks both point toward delay, not acceleration, is itself the more reliable signal here.
Why This Tracks With Everything Else Happening in GPUs Right Now
A later RTX 60-series launch lines up with the broader story dominating GPU coverage all year: a global memory shortage that's pushed GeForce pricing up as much as 30% at the high end, driven by DRAM and GDDR manufacturers redirecting production toward AI data center demand instead of consumer graphics cards. If TSMC's advanced-node capacity is similarly being prioritized for AI accelerators over next-gen gaming GPUs, a delayed RTX 60-series isn't a standalone rumor — it's a second symptom of the same underlying capacity crunch.
What This Means If You're Buying a GPU Now
- The RTX 50-series has a longer relevant shelf life than usual. If next-gen really is 2027-2028 rather than a 2026-2027 launch, a current RTX 50-series card stays NVIDIA's newest option for meaningfully longer than a typical generational gap.
- AMD's RDNA 5 slipping alongside RTX 60 removes competitive pressure. A simultaneous delay on both sides means neither company is racing to undercut the other with a next-gen launch anytime soon.
- Don't wait on a specific date. With two credible-but-conflicting leaks and no official roadmap from either company, planning a purchase around "the next generation" right now means planning around a moving target.
Bottom line
Nobody outside NVIDIA and AMD actually knows the real date yet, and the two most-cited leakers on this specific rumor don't agree with each other. What's consistent across both versions is the direction: later, not sooner, and tied to the same AI-driven capacity crunch that's already reshaping GPU pricing this year. If you're deciding whether to buy now or wait, our current GPU deals roundup and RTX 4070 pricing update are the more actionable near-term picture than a 2027-or-2028 rumor is.
Sources: Notebookcheck
