While there was a buzz suggesting that AMD’s latest graphics cards would be released shortly, we now have confirmation that this won’t be the case. David McAfee, the vice president and general manager of AMD’s Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics division, revealed that although the GPUs are performing well and are expected to be widely available, they won’t be launched until March.
This postponement is intriguing, particularly since some retailers had anticipated starting preorders on January 22. Numerous global listings have emerged, and while there’s a scarcity of detailed specifications, these listings suggested the cards were primed for release or would be soon.
Radeon 9000 series hardware and software are looking great and we are planning to have a wide assortment of cards available globally. Can’t wait for gamers to get their hands on the cards when they go on sale in March!
— David McAfee (@McAfeeDavid_AMD) January 20, 2025

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The way the news was shared was rather unusual. After the GPUs were absent from CES 2025, AMD hinted that a dedicated event was more appropriate for the GPUs rather than including them in the 45-minute keynote, which also didn’t mention its next-generation Z2 chips. McAfee later took to X (Twitter) to reveal that AMD’s timeline isn’t firmly established, leading to a vague release window in March.
As the full range of Nvidia’s RTX 50-series is nearing launch, many enthusiasts from the AMD community expected more substantial news. The response to McAfee’s announcement on Twitter was tepid, with numerous fans questioning the cause of the delay. In the ongoing competition in the GPU market, it seems Nvidia holds an advantage, as the release dates for their initial two GPUs are known, along with detailed specifications for all models. Conversely, all that is confirmed about the RX 9000 series is that it will feature 16GB of VRAM, with that information sourced from leaks.
Though AMD did not showcase the cards during the event, affiliated partners had them on display at CES 2025, indicating that the hardware is ready for release. Frank Azor from AMD had previously informed the press that the launch was intended to happen “in a matter of weeks,” which could still align with the end of March, albeit just barely. Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti are expected to be available by that time, tentatively slated for February.
It’s possible that one of my least favorite rumors is proving to be accurate. A leaker from the Chiphell forum suggested that AMD delayed the RX 9000 series release from late January, citing “waiting for Nvidia” as a reason. It’s unclear exactly what AMD might be waiting for, but we now have confirmation that we will have to wait until March to see the RX 9000 series arrive.