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AMD is reportedly stepping back from directly competing with Nvidia in the pursuit of the flagship consumer GPU. As the company continues on its quest to gain more market share overall, it believes that scale is the answer and not having the outright fastest card on the market.
That’s according to Jack Huynh, AMD’s senior vice president, who spoke with Tom’s Hardware at IFA 2024. With rumors regarding the upcoming RX-8000 series of AMD GPUs potentially dropping flagship models (which AMD hasn’t officially confirmed), Huynh was pressed to comment on the company’s long-term strategy for consumers and how it might differ to that of Nvidia. The answer seems to be something similar to what AMD attempted five years ago–surrendering the flagship fight to Nvidia while attempting to gain market share where most consumers are spending their money: in mid- to budget-ranged GPU offerings.
“…But my priority right now is to build scale for AMD”, replied Huynh, in response to being asked if AMD would not pursue a flagship GPU. “Because without scale right now, I can’t get the developers. If I tell developers, ‘I’m just going for 10% of the market share,’ they just say, ‘Jack, I wish you well, but we have to go with Nvidia.’ So, I have to show them a plan that says, ‘Hey, we can get to 40% market share with this strategy.’ Then they say, ‘I’m with you now, Jack. Now I’ll optimize on AMD.’ Once we get that, then we can go after the top.”
Earlier in the interview, Huynh referenced AMD’s partnership with both Sony and Microsoft with regards to powering both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles, citing it as an example of how lower-cost products can yield the market share figures it is pursuing. Nvidia currently supplies its Tegra ARM-based SoC to Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, but has not featured in a Microsoft or Sony manufactured console yet.
“We have this debate quite a bit at AMD, right? So the question I ask is, the PlayStation 5, do you think that’s hurting us? It’s $499. So, I ask, is it fun to go King of the Hill? Again, I’m looking for scale. Because when we get scale, then I bring developers with us,” concluded Huynh.
It’s too early to conclude if this means AMD already has new consoles from both Microsoft and Sony on its long-term roadmap, but it does seem more certain that RX-8000 series GPUs, expected later this year, won’t attempt to go blow-for-blow with Nvidia’s own upcoming RTX-50 series. AMD is committed to scale, however, which will continue with its mid-range and budget offerings, as well as the continued sale of PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Its also making a name for itself in the blossoming portable PC market, with the company’s next-generation Z2 Extreme chip expected in 2025.
