AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 XT price has supposedly leaked in MicroCenter's listing, and I honestly hope this is a joke

• MicroCenter's AMD Radeon RX 9070 GPU listing hints at potential $699 MSRP
• The listed prices could likely be placeholders
• AMD's full RDNA 4 GPU reveal will take place on February 28

AMD's Radeon RX 9000 GPU series launch is almost upon us, with the official reveal set for February 28. All eyes are set on the RX 9070 XT GPU's performance capabilities and price point - and now, we might have our answer on the latter, and it may not sit well with fans.

As reported by VideoCardz, AMD's Radeon RX 9070 series has been listed on MicroCenter with the RX 9070 XT supposedly starting at $699, while its RX 9070 counterpart is listed at $649. This also includes some other overclocked models for both the RX 9070 XT and non-XT - which we won't post since it's been taken down - and these prices are similar to those listed for Nvidia's new Blackwell GPU lineup, which has seen drastic retailer inflation, with some of the new Radeon cards listed for as much as $1,099.

It's important to note these aren't official prices and AMD's official reveal tomorrow could be drastically different - but a previous leak suggested that Team Red is aiming for a sub-$700 price point, which would corroborate some of MicroCenter’s listings.

Considering the RX 9070 XT's potential position as a competitor to Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti ($749 / £729 / around AU$1509), if it clocks in at the purported $699 (based on MicroCenter's listings), it may not be cheaper enough to convince gamers looking for GPU alternatives amid Team Green's current Blackwell launch hiccups.

Although it could still end up being the ideal substitute for RTX 5000 series GPUs that are currently either out of stock or simply overpriced, there's no guarantee the same won't happen to Team Red's RDNA 4 GPUs. Scalpers could strike again, especially if the new GPUs are impressive - while this is always a threat regardless of retail prices, the suspected $699 price point isn't very appealing, especially at a time when AMD’s fiercest rival is already on the back foot.

I really hope those prices are just placeholders and nothing more...

As I've stated on numerous occasions, the GPU market is in dire need of some serious competition as Nvidia continues to take it by storm. Team Green is in a vulnerable state right now, as RTX 5000 series GPUs are virtually impossible to attain at MSRP (along with a whole host of teething issues, including missing ROPs on some shipped cards), so AMD's RDNA 4 GPU launch is the perfect opportunity for Team Red to claw back some market share.

Frustratingly, it looks like Team Red could bow out of the battle before it even starts - if MicroCenter's listed prices end up being legitimate, I truly believe AMD stands no chance at competing with Nvidia this generation. The Radeon RX 7900 XTX, the current flagship GPU - which is still one of the closest to the RTX 4090 alongside the RTX 4080 Super - is supposedly going to remain AMD’s most powerful consumer GPU, and that card can be found at slightly higher prices than the RTX 5070 Ti's $729.

If the Radeon RX 9070 XT cannot beat either of those GPUs at a potential $699 MSRP, I fear that it will be dead on arrival. Plenty of fans already look toward Nvidia for the best performance, especially when using ray tracing - while RDNA 4 promises to improve on ray tracing performance, it’ll be a major challenge to match Team Green's successes in that region.

I'm hoping that by tomorrow, I can eat my words after AMD finally opens the lid on its new GPU offerings, but honestly? I'd be willing to bet that MicroCenter's leak is accurate...

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