The Game Republic Great Northern Games Discord monthly AMA, featuring affiliate members Ben Miles (Managing Director) and Phil Davis (Sales Director) of Wired2Fire. The session focused on providing insight into current hardware market demands and trends as well as an overview of upgrading your system to facilitate smooth development. The free Discord chat formed part of Game Republic’s activities for 2026 supported by Official Partners Red Kite Games, Xsolla and Double Eleven. Here are some of the key points from the session that we wanted to share…
Rising hardware costs: what developers need to know
With the session focusing on how current hardware trends are impacting game development, the discussion quickly moved beyond general advice. The cost and availability of key components have changed significantly, and those changes are now directly affecting how studios plan, build and scale.
AI demand is reshaping the hardware market
A major driver behind rising costs is the rapid growth in AI infrastructure. Memory manufacturers have shifted a large proportion of production toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for data centres, reducing the supply of traditional desktop and workstation components.
“We’ve seen a 400–500% increase in DRAM in four or five months. A 128GB kit that was around £240 is now £1,200.” – Ben Miles
This shift is also affecting GPUs, particularly in the mid-range, where previously popular options like the 16GB RTX 5070 Ti are becoming harder to source, or are priced closer to higher-end parts.
Pricing pressure is still taking its time to work through the market
Much of the hardware currently available was purchased at older prices. As that stock is replaced, the underlying increases in manufacturing cost will become more visible as the newer, higher priced stock is blended against older inventory.
“The market hasn’t actually seen the real rise yet” – Phil Davis
How developers are adapting
Wired2Fire’s Studio customers are responding pragmatically. Many are extending the life of existing systems by upgrading memory, GPUs or storage, while others are planning purchases earlier to avoid further increases. There is also a growing focus on aligning hardware to specific roles, ensuring that higher-spec machines are reserved for the most demanding workloads.
Making the right trade-offs
While cost pressures are real, cutting corners in the wrong areas can introduce risk, or the danger of having to rapidly replace underspecified kit. Second-hand components and under-specced systems can impact productivity and reliability over time. The team also discussed studio hardware mix, and how laptops continue to offer flexibility for remote workers, but sustained development workloads can expose thermal limitations, leading to reduced performance over time.
“You get great performance for 30 minutes… then it absolutely tanks once the CPU and GPU have reached their upper thermal limit.” – Ben Miles
Many teams are adopting hybrid approaches, combining laptops or thin clients with remote access to studio-hosted desktop workstations, utilising tools like Parsec to allow for low-latency remote connection.
Final thoughts
Rising hardware costs are unlikely to reverse quickly. As a result, planning and informed decision-making are becoming increasingly important.
“Your machine is an investment… the more capable it is, the longer it lasts.” – Phil Davis
For developers, the focus remains on maintaining productivity and ensuring that hardware supports, rather than limits, the development process.
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