AI is eating all the memory and SSDs so it can make pictures of Trump in a bikini. Here's a thread with news about RAM shortages, GPU price hikes etc., etc.
The reasoning given for this is that the RX 9070 has a very similar production cost to the RX 9070 XT, thanks to them both using the same Navi 48 GPU and both having 16GB of VRAM, yet they sell for a small but significant price difference. The RX 9070 XT's MSRP is $599, while the RX 9070 has a $499 MSRP, so the opportunity to still make RX 9070 cards at a profit is vanishingly thin.
(1)