At CES 2025, AMD unveiled its next-generation graphics cards, the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, part of the RDNA 4 family. Interestingly, these cards were absent from AMD's keynote, though vendors showcased them on the show floor with obscured specifications. David McAfee, AMD's VP & GM of Radeon Graphics and Ryzen CPUs, took to Twitter/X to announce that these cards will hit the market in March 2025.
"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 the exact specifications and pricing remain undisclosed, it's speculated that the AMD RX 9070 and 9070 XT will compete directly with Nvidia's RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti, set to launch in February, in terms of both price and performance.
Interestingly, reports suggest that stock of the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT has already reached retailers and is in the hands of reviewers, with eTeknix confirming receipt of review samples.
The timing and manner of AMD's announcement have sparked speculation. Some believe AMD delayed the official launch to strategically counter Nvidia's offerings and to enable direct comparisons between the new GPUs. There's also speculation that Nvidia's pricing strategy may have influenced AMD's decision to postpone the RX 9070 lineup's official release.
The lack of detailed information about the new AMD graphics cards has led to a confusing launch narrative. A June 2024 report highlighted Nvidia's dominant 88% share of the discrete GPU market, with AMD holding just 12%. With no other significant competitors at the mid-range or high-end of the consumer graphics card market, AMD must strategically maneuver to challenge Nvidia's market dominance.
