AMD’s RX 9070 XT was meant to cost $900, says retailer

While AMD’s RX 9000 series is still a mystery, we keep getting new information from the most unexpected sources. This time, Gplay, a Bulgarian retailer, revealed the intended pricing for AMD’s best graphics cards. It seems that AMD’s initial plan was to price its new flagship closer to the RTX 5080 than to the RTX 5070.

Gplay filmed a video talking about the upcoming Radeon GPUs, although, as noted by VideoCardz, the company didn’t dive into any of the specifics gamers have been asking for — which isn’t surprising, given that the GPUs aren’t officially available yet. However, we got to see the box for PowerColor’s Red Devil RX 9070 XT Limited Edition, and we got to learn some insider information.

The retailer claims that AMD’s initial plan was to launch the RX 9070 XT on January 23, which we’ve already gathered based on B&H preorder dates. The pricing is what caught my eye, because the card was reportedly meant to cost a whopping $900 at launch, with the RX 9070 non-XT being priced at $750.

It’s important to put these prices in the context of other GPUs, both those being released shortly and those already available. AMD provided us with very little information, but it expects the RX 9070 XT to perform at the level of the RX 7900 XT. While that GPU launched at $900, it now costs around $650. Even if the RX 9070 XT turns out to be better than its predecessor (which it should, especially in ray tracing), that’s a pretty steep $250 increase.

Meanwhile, Nvidia will soon launch the RTX 5080. Although leaked benchmarks show that it may not beat the RTX 4090, it’s a safe bet that it’ll beat the RX 9070 XT. That GPU is launching with a $1,000 MSRP, followed by the $750 RTX 5070 Ti and the $550 RTX 5070. To see AMD’s new card on the upper end of that price bracket is a worrying prospect.

We have to remember that these prices aren’t official, and even if AMD indeed planned to slap a $900 price tag on its new flagship, we’ll likely never hear an official confirmation from AMD itself — unless the card does end up launching at that price, which I highly doubt. Another pricing leak from early January said the cards would be priced competitively, ranging from $480 to $550. That’s a huge gap.

Gplay joins a growing list of retailers with the RX 9070 XT ready to sell. However, AMD seems to have pulled back on the rumored January 23 release date, and, as David McAfee revealed, now plans to launch the RX 9000 series in March, which might set up the RX 9070 XT for an uphill climb against Nvidia.