AMD Radeon RX 9070 GPUs: Official Release Window Announced, Pricing Still Pending

At CES 2025, AMD unveiled its next-generation graphics cards, the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, but notably, these RDNA 4 cards were absent from AMD's keynote. Despite this, vendors at the show displayed the new cards with obscured specifications, creating a buzz around the upcoming releases.

David McAfee, VP & GM of Radeon Graphics and Ryzen CPUs, took to Twitter / X to announce that both the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT are slated for a March 2025 release. "Radeon 9000 series hardware and software are looking great and we are planning to have a wide assortment of cards available globally," McAfee stated. "Can't wait for gamers to get their hands on the cards when they go on sale in March!"

While specific details such as specifications and pricing remain undisclosed, it is anticipated that the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT will compete directly with Nvidia's forthcoming RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti, which are set to launch in February. Despite the lack of official information, reports suggest that stock of the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT has already reached retailers and reviewers, with eTeknix confirming receipt of review samples.

The situation has sparked speculation that AMD's delayed launch might be a strategic move to directly counter Nvidia's RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti, allowing for a head-to-head comparison. There is also speculation that pricing pressure from Nvidia could be influencing AMD's release timeline for the RX 9070 series.

The lack of clear information has led to a somewhat chaotic launch messaging for the RX 9070 lineup. According to a June 2024 report, Nvidia currently dominates 88% of the discrete GPU market, leaving AMD with only a 12% share. With no other significant competitors in the mid-range or high-end consumer graphics card market, AMD faces a critical challenge to erode Nvidia's market dominance.