NVIDIA hasn't announced an RTX 60 series release date. Leaks from September 2026 point to 2028, and even the most optimistic reports don't go earlier than 2027. NVIDIA has no new gaming cards coming this year, so if you need a graphics card before then, you're choosing from the RTX 50 and RX 9000 cards on shelves now.
When we covered this in January, the best information said the second half of 2027. That date didn't hold. In February, Tom's Hardware reported on a story from The Information saying NVIDIA wouldn't launch any new gaming GPUs in 2026, and that RTX 60 mass production, once planned for the end of 2027, had been pushed back. NVIDIA didn't address the delay directly. Its statement to Tom's was that "demand for GeForce RTX GPUs is strong, and memory supply is constrained." That makes 2026 the first year in roughly three decades without a new NVIDIA gaming GPU, and the leaks since have pushed the date later.
The RTX 60 Timeline So Far
The expected date has slid as the year went on.
| When | Source | What it said |
|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | kopite7kimi, covered in our video | RTX 60 in the second half of 2027 |
| February 2026 | The Information, via Tom's Hardware | No new gaming GPUs in 2026, RTX 60 mass production pushed past late 2027 |
| September 2026 | Leakers Kepler_L2 and kopite7kimi | RTX 60 in 2028 |
| October 2026 | Tom's Hardware | Rumors point to late 2027 at the earliest, or 2028 |
None of these dates come from NVIDIA. Kopite usually has solid NVIDIA leaks, as we said in the video, but leaked dates slip, and this one has slipped twice in nine months. NVIDIA hasn't confirmed the architecture either. The working assumption is Rubin, since the January leak said NVIDIA planned to adapt its Rubin AI design for gaming, which flips the old order of GeForce first and data center second.
Why NVIDIA Is Taking So Long
For most of the last decade, a new GeForce generation showed up roughly every two years. A 2028 RTX 60 launch would stretch that to three years or more.
| Generation | First desktop card launched | Gap from previous |
|---|---|---|
| RTX 20 | September 2018 (RTX 2080) | First RTX generation |
| RTX 30 | September 2020 (RTX 3080) | About 24 months |
| RTX 40 | October 2022 (RTX 4090) | About 25 months |
| RTX 50 | January 2025 (RTX 5090) | About 28 months |
| RTX 60 | 2028, rumored | 36 months or more |
Memory explains most of it. A graphics card needs GDDR7, and the three companies making nearly all of the world's DRAM (Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron) are sending as much capacity as they can to AI data centers. Gaming was 46% of NVIDIA's revenue in fiscal 2022 and is under 8% now. When the same silicon and memory can go into AI accelerators that sell for $30,000 to $40,000 apiece, a $600 gaming card isn't the priority. Our RAMageddon breakdown covers what the same shortage has done to system RAM.
Now the depressing part. A new generation launching into this market would still need memory from the same three suppliers. Micron's CEO said on September 30 that supply will be "much tighter" in the company's fiscal 2027 and 2028 than this year, and the chairman of SK Group, which controls SK Hynix, said in March that supply is unlikely to fully meet demand until around 2030. We wouldn't plan around RTX 60 cards launching at the kind of prices RTX 50 cards had in early 2025.
What's Happening to RTX 50 in the Meantime
The RTX 5090 Is Reportedly Ending Production
On October 10, Tom's Hardware reported on a leaked factory notice saying NVIDIA will no longer make any RTX 5090 models, with the GB202 chip going to professional and data center cards. The same notice says the RTX 5080 16GB will be discontinued and a 24GB RTX 5080 will become the top GeForce card. NVIDIA hadn't responded when Tom's published, and the report is unverified, so treat it as a strong rumor for now.
The Super Refresh Is Mostly Off
The Information's February report said NVIDIA had finished an RTX 50 Super lineup and then deprioritized it over the memory shortage, which is why we called the Super cards off the table in the video. If the factory notice is right, the 24GB RTX 5080 is all that's left of that plan.
Prices Have Kept Climbing
This is where current cards sat on Tom's Hardware's GPU price tracker on October 12, 2026, next to their launch prices.
| Graphics card | Launch MSRP | Lowest US price, October 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| RTX 5090 | $1,999 | $7,177 |
| RTX 5080 | $999 | $1,639 |
| RTX 5070 Ti | $749 | $1,169 |
| RTX 5070 | $549 | $799 |
| RTX 5060 | $299 | $429 |
| RX 9070 XT | $599 | $814 |
| RX 9060 XT 16GB | $349 | $519 |
| Arc B580 | $249 | $329 |
The 5090 number likely reflects the supply news. Further down the stack, the rest sit roughly 30 to 65% above launch price.
Waiting for RTX 60 or Buying Now
If the leaks are right, waiting means at least another 15 months, and longer before cards are in stock at sane prices. Whether that pays off depends on what's in your PC today.
When Waiting Makes Sense
Wait if your current card runs the games you play at the resolution you play them. Someone with an RTX 4070 Super or RX 7900 XT at 1440p doesn't gain much by paying today's prices for a small step up. The same goes for anyone who has 16GB of VRAM and isn't running out of it. Our VRAM guide explains where the limits sit at each resolution.
When Buying Now Makes More Sense
Buy if your card is failing or you're building your first PC. The same goes for an 8GB card that's stuttering at 1440p in newer games. More than a year is a long time to play on hardware that's holding you back, and nothing in the memory market suggests RTX 60 will launch cheap. A card you buy now also keeps running the same games the day RTX 60 shows up.
What an RTX 50 Card Gets You Right Now
Part of what makes waiting less necessary is that NVIDIA has kept adding features to RTX 50 through this gap. DLSS 5 launched on September 3 and runs only on RTX 50 cards for now, with RTX 40 support planned but undated. Our DLSS 5 guide covers which cards get what. Multi Frame Generation also went up to a 6X mode on RTX 50 in March.
Older RTX cards still get DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution, which runs on any GeForce RTX card. NVIDIA notes that RTX 20 and 30 cards lack native FP8 support, so the new model costs them more performance, the trade-off we flagged in the video.
Where AMD and Intel Fit
AMD's next generation looks like it's on a similar clock. Kepler_L2's September leak put most of AMD's RDNA 5 lineup in 2028, with one chip arriving in 2027. AMD hasn't confirmed any of it. Intel's bigger Battlemage chip didn't show up as a gaming card at CES, and Intel declined to comment on it when asked at the show. The Arc B580 is still the top Intel card on Tom's price tracker.
That leaves the cards already out. At 1440p the RX 9070 XT and RTX 5070 are the two we get asked about most, and our RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 XT comparison goes through how they stack up. At 1080p on a tight budget, the Arc B580 has the smallest markup in the price table above.
Builds We'd Point You To
If you've decided not to wait, start with your resolution. For 1440p high refresh, the IRONREIGN pairs a Ryzen 7 7800X3D with an RTX 5070 Ti and its 16GB of VRAM, plus 32GB of DDR5-6000, a 2TB NVMe drive and an 850W Gold power supply. It was listed at $3,599 on October 20, 2026, and since it's on AM5, the platform is supported through 2029 for a later CPU upgrade.
For 4K or the heaviest ray tracing, the NIGHT REAPER v6 runs a Ryzen 7 9850X3D with an RTX 5080 and 64GB of DDR5-6000. Our Night Reaper write-up has the benchmarks from the earlier 9800X3D version of the build. Check both product pages for current pricing and availability, since GPU supply is moving week to week.
FAQ
When is the RTX 60 series coming out?
NVIDIA hasn't announced a date. Leaks from September 2026 point to 2028, and even the most optimistic reports don't go earlier than 2027. Early 2026 leaks said the second half of 2027 before The Information reported that mass production had been pushed back.
Is the RTX 5090 discontinued?
A leaked factory notice reported by Tom's Hardware on October 10, 2026 says NVIDIA has stopped making RTX 5090 cards and is reserving the GB202 chip for professional and data center GPUs. NVIDIA hasn't confirmed it, and the lowest US price on Tom's tracker was $7,177 on October 12.
Will there be an RTX 50 Super series?
A full Super lineup looks unlikely, since The Information reported in February that NVIDIA had deprioritized it over the memory shortage. The October factory notice mentions a 24GB RTX 5080 as the new top GeForce card, which may be the only part of that refresh to ship.
Should I wait for the RTX 60 series or buy an RTX 50 card now?
It depends on the card you have now. If it handles your games at your resolution, holding off costs you little. A failing card or a first build is a reason to buy now, and so is running out of VRAM, since the RTX 60 series is likely more than a year away and memory shortages make cheap launch prices unlikely.
What architecture will the RTX 60 series use?
It's expected to use a gaming version of Rubin, the architecture behind NVIDIA's Vera Rubin AI data center systems. NVIDIA hasn't confirmed it.
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