Gaming Memory Shortages and Industry News

Memory supply, surprising PlayStation sales and shifting studio employment headlines shaped this week’s round-up. There is also an unusual story about how piracy helped Doom reach a wider audience.

Memory supply reportedly booked through 2027

Computer memory may remain difficult to source for some time. A new report by DigiTimes, citing people in the industry, says Samsung, SK hynix and Micron have sold their available DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) capacity through 2027.

If accurate, that leaves no additional supply from those manufacturers during the period covered by the report. AI companies are consuming large quantities of memory for data-centre development, increasing pressure on other industries that depend on the same components.

Gaming hardware makers and other manufacturers have responded by raising prices. The shortage has already been developing for months, and some analysts do not expect conditions to improve in 2027. Prices could continue rising into 2028, while one apparent response has been to sell computers with less RAM.

For arcade owners, this is a useful reminder that the cost of replacement computers, storage and other electronic hardware can be affected by supply conditions well beyond the games industry. Our arcade parts collection covers components for repair and restoration projects.

Black Ops dominates the summer sales comparison

Alinea Analytics estimated that the surprise PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 releases of Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 have sold 11.2 million copies combined.

Before those releases, PlayStation players were limited to the PlayStation 3 versions. Xbox players could still access the games through backwards compatibility. The reported total is especially notable because it exceeded the estimated PlayStation 5 sales of the Halo remake, which was the franchise’s first release playable on a PlayStation console.

Alinea estimated that the remake sold 351,000 copies on PlayStation 5 during July. That project featured a complete visual rebuild in Unreal Engine 5 and added new missions. By comparison, Black Ops and Black Ops 2 received relatively modest improvements and appeared to have been released quickly, possibly to support weak sales of the previous year’s Black Ops 7.

Halo Studios denies mass layoffs

Reports earlier in the week said that people involved with Halo: Campaign Evolved had lost their jobs. The departures were real, but the available information does not support claims of a mass layoff at Halo Studios after the game shipped.

A source speaking to GamesBeat clarified that the workers identifying themselves as affected on LinkedIn were external contractors rather than full-time employees. The source said no Halo Studios employees had been laid off and described post-launch changes to contractor arrangements as a common occurrence.

Job cuts reported at Crossfire developer That’s No Moon

That’s No Moon, a studio established by industry veterans in 2021, recently announced its debut project: a new entry in the multiplayer shooter Crossfire series. The game is known for its detailed cover system.

Several members of the development team have since posted on LinkedIn that they were laid off, as reported by IGN. That’s No Moon has not said how many people were affected or explained the reason for the cuts. The game is planned for console and PC, but it has no announced release date.

How piracy helped Doom spread

During QuakeCon 2026 in Texas, id Software co-founder John Romero discussed the early distribution of Doom. The game’s shareware model encouraged players to circulate an incomplete version of the first-person shooter, which led to widespread copying.

Some shops even displayed boxes containing unauthorised copies. Romero said this activity was not entirely harmful because it helped the game reach audiences that official distribution could not easily reach at the time.

“We were totally happy with that,” Romero explained. He said the team knew copies were being made in Taiwan and contacted major pirates there, offering them legitimate boxes at very low prices.

Those businesses bought large quantities of the boxes, giving the distribution a legitimate path. Romero said the shareware version was not intended to generate significant revenue; the team made money when players ordered the remainder of the full game.

The story is a reminder that unconventional distribution played a role in the history of PC gaming. For readers planning a home arcade project, our arcade machine buying guide and DIY arcade kits offer practical starting points.