{"id":2017202,"date":"2026-06-29T13:54:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017202"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:54:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:54:03","slug":"the-largest-ram-and-storage-component-manufacturers-are-being-sued-for-alleged-price-fixing-and-stoking-supracompetitive-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017202","title":{"rendered":"The largest RAM and storage component manufacturers are being sued for alleged price fixing and stoking &#8220;supracompetitive prices&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">The largest RAM and storage component manufacturers are being sued for alleged price fixing and stoking &#8220;supracompetitive prices&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Cartel who will win.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/God-of-War-Ragnar%C3%B6k---State-of-Play-Sep-2022-Story-Trailer-_-PS5-%26-PS4-Games-1-1-screenshot.png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"God of War Ragnarok story trailer screenshot showing close up of bald warrior Kratos speaking to young boy Atreus with a bow on his back\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"God-of-War-Ragnar%C3%B6k---State-of-Play-Sep-2022-Story-Trailer-_-PS5-%26-PS4-Games-1-1-screenshot.png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Sony<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/sherif-saed\">Sherif Saed<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-06-29T13:54:03+00:00\">June 29, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sk-hynix-micron-samsung-ram-price-fixing-lawsuit?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          9 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron &#8211; the three largest manufacturers of RAM and fast storage in the world, are being targeted in a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit broadly alleges that all three are involved in price-fixing and intentionally limiting supply to maintain exorbitantly high prices.<\/p>\n<p>More specifically, it alleges the companies have intentionally limited the supply of DDR3 and DDR4 RAM, while shifting the focus to HBM RAM. The former are more traditionally found in consumer electronics, including PCs and consoles, while the latter is mainly designed for AI datacentres.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, which was filed on 25th June in a federal court in California, was spotted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law360.com\/articles\/2493985\/major-chipmakers-sued-for-price-fixing-amid-rampocalypse-\">Law360<\/a> (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.videogameschronicle.com\/news\/ram-manufacturers-have-been-sued-for-allegedly-fixing-prices-and-supply-leading-to-increased-costs\/\">VGC<\/a>). It argues that consumers have borne the brunt of that alleged squeeze, forcing them to pay &#8220;supracompetitive prices&#8221; for devices that incorporate DRAM, further boosting the companies&#8217; profits.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"crucial p310 pcie 4.0 nvme ssd shown with a heatsink\" height=\"609\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/p310.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7766830870279147\" width=\"1082\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"crucial p310 pcie 4.0 nvme ssd shown with a heatsink\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"p310.jpg\" height=\"609\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7766830870279147\" width=\"1082\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Crucial<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The crux of the lawsuit&#8217;s argument is that, in a competitive market, higher prices attract companies willing to meet the demand, thereby offering more supply. In this case, that didn&#8217;t happen. Making matters worse is that almost the entirety of the supply is controlled by the three companies, and they&#8217;re not likely to be challenged by a newcomer because of the sheer financial cost and time required to build these advanced fabrication facilities.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time SK Hynix and Samsung have faced these kinds of charges. In 2005, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archive\/opa\/pr\/2005\/October\/05_at_540.html\">both SK Hynix and Samsung pleaded guilty to price-fixing DRAM prices<\/a>. The US Department of Justice fined the former $185 million, and the latter $300 million. Samsung&#8217;s fine was the second-largest &#8220;criminal antitrust fine&#8221; in US history at the time. Micron, notably the only American company of the trio, managed to evade charges by reportedly helping prosecutors bring the case forward. There&#8217;s an excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jVzeHTlWIDY?si=HnICd9CNWcMsHBfb\">Gamers Nexus documentary<\/a> that&#8217;s well worth watching if you&#8217;d like to learn more about it.<\/p>\n<p>The class action lawsuit called attention to that ruling, as well as a more recent investigation by the Chinese government, which accused all three companies of similar dealings between 2016-2018, a period where RAM prices rose sharply &#8211; though nothing to the degree we see today.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Corsair VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz CL16 Intel XMP 2.0 Computer Memory - Black (CMK16GX4M2B3200C16)\" height=\"619\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Corsair-VENGEANCE-LPX-DDR4-RAM-16GB-(2x8GB)-3200MHz-CL16-Intel-XMP-2.0-Computer-Memory---Black-(CMK16GX4M2B3200C16).png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7770597738287561\" width=\"1100\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Corsair VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz CL16 Intel XMP 2.0 Computer Memory - Black (CMK16GX4M2B3200C16)\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Corsair-VENGEANCE-LPX-DDR4-RAM-16GB-(2x8GB)-3200MHz-CL16-Intel-XMP-2.0-Computer-Memory---Black-(CMK16GX4M2B3200C16).png\" height=\"619\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7770597738287561\" width=\"1100\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Corsair<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The rising costs of RAM and fast storage (SSD) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ram-prices-are-soaring-what-does-it-mean-for-gaming\">have affected almost every company that makes consumer electronics<\/a>. Anyone from hobbyist creators of retro consoles, to giants as big as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/apple-raises-prices-macbooks-ipads-memory-costs-skyrocket-2026-06-25\/\">Apple<\/a> have all had to raise prices in recent months as a result. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-major-price-increases\">Xbox<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-announces-major-price-hikes-for-ps5-ps5-pro-and-portal\">PlayStation<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/nintendo-switch-2-price-increase-may-2025\">Nintendo<\/a> have similarly jacked up the prices of their consoles on several occasions, with more expected to arrive.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Despite obscene prices, stock remains low, which makes it difficult to even make the products for the people who can afford them. Valve learned this the hard way in the lead-up to the recent launch of the Steam Machine, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/valve-steam-machine-price-availability-reaction\">which the company admitted is priced much higher than it originally anticipated<\/a>, and won&#8217;t even be available in quantities large enough to meet demand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron &#8211; the three largest manufacturers of RAM and fast storage in the world, are being targeted in a class action lawsuit. The lawsuit broadly alleges that all three are involved in price-fixing and intentionally limiting supply to maintain exorbitantly high prices.<\/p>\n<p>More specifically, it alleges the companies have intentionally limited the supply of DDR3 and DDR4 RAM, while shifting the focus to HBM RAM. The former are more traditionally found in consumer electronics, including PCs and consoles, while the latter is mainly designed for AI datacentres.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, which was filed on 25th June in a federal court in California, was spotted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law360.com\/articles\/2493985\/major-chipmakers-sued-for-price-fixing-amid-rampocalypse-\">Law360<\/a> (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.videogameschronicle.com\/news\/ram-manufacturers-have-been-sued-for-allegedly-fixing-prices-and-supply-leading-to-increased-costs\/\">VGC<\/a>). It argues that consumers have borne the brunt of that alleged squeeze, forcing them to pay &#8220;supracompetitive prices&#8221; for devices that incorporate DRAM, further boosting the companies&#8217; profits.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"crucial p310 pcie 4.0 nvme ssd shown with a heatsink\" height=\"609\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/p310.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7766830870279147\" width=\"1082\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"crucial p310 pcie 4.0 nvme ssd shown with a heatsink\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"p310.jpg\" height=\"609\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7766830870279147\" width=\"1082\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Crucial<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The crux of the lawsuit&#8217;s argument is that, in a competitive market, higher prices attract companies willing to meet the demand, thereby offering more supply. In this case, that didn&#8217;t happen. Making matters worse is that almost the entirety of the supply is controlled by the three companies, and they&#8217;re not likely to be challenged by a newcomer because of the sheer financial cost and time required to build these advanced fabrication facilities.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time SK Hynix and Samsung have faced these kinds of charges. In 2005, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archive\/opa\/pr\/2005\/October\/05_at_540.html\">both SK Hynix and Samsung pleaded guilty to price-fixing DRAM prices<\/a>. The US Department of Justice fined the former $185 million, and the latter $300 million. Samsung&#8217;s fine was the second-largest &#8220;criminal antitrust fine&#8221; in US history at the time. Micron, notably the only American company of the trio, managed to evade charges by reportedly helping prosecutors bring the case forward. There&#8217;s an excellent <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jVzeHTlWIDY?si=HnICd9CNWcMsHBfb\">Gamers Nexus documentary<\/a> that&#8217;s well worth watching if you&#8217;d like to learn more about it.<\/p>\n<p>The class action lawsuit called attention to that ruling, as well as a more recent investigation by the Chinese government, which accused all three companies of similar dealings between 2016-2018, a period where RAM prices rose sharply &#8211; though nothing to the degree we see today.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Corsair VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz CL16 Intel XMP 2.0 Computer Memory - Black (CMK16GX4M2B3200C16)\" height=\"619\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Corsair-VENGEANCE-LPX-DDR4-RAM-16GB-(2x8GB)-3200MHz-CL16-Intel-XMP-2.0-Computer-Memory---Black-(CMK16GX4M2B3200C16).png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7770597738287561\" width=\"1100\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Corsair VENGEANCE LPX DDR4 RAM 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz CL16 Intel XMP 2.0 Computer Memory - Black (CMK16GX4M2B3200C16)\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"Corsair-VENGEANCE-LPX-DDR4-RAM-16GB-(2x8GB)-3200MHz-CL16-Intel-XMP-2.0-Computer-Memory---Black-(CMK16GX4M2B3200C16).png\" height=\"619\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7770597738287561\" width=\"1100\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Corsair<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The rising costs of RAM and fast storage (SSD) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ram-prices-are-soaring-what-does-it-mean-for-gaming\">have affected almost every company that makes consumer electronics<\/a>. Anyone from hobbyist creators of retro consoles, to giants as big as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/apple-raises-prices-macbooks-ipads-memory-costs-skyrocket-2026-06-25\/\">Apple<\/a> have all had to raise prices in recent months as a result. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-major-price-increases\">Xbox<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-announces-major-price-hikes-for-ps5-ps5-pro-and-portal\">PlayStation<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/nintendo-switch-2-price-increase-may-2025\">Nintendo<\/a> have similarly jacked up the prices of their consoles on several occasions, with more expected to arrive.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Despite obscene prices, stock remains low, which makes it difficult to even make the products for the people who can afford them. Valve learned this the hard way in the lead-up to the recent launch of the Steam Machine, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/valve-steam-machine-price-availability-reaction\">which the company admitted is priced much higher than it originally anticipated<\/a>, and won&#8217;t even be available in quantities large enough to meet demand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The largest RAM and storage component manufacturers are being sued for alleged price fixing and stoking &#8220;supracompetitive prices&#8221; Cartel who will win. Image credit: Sony News by Sherif Saed Contributor Published on June 29, 2026 9 comments Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron &#8211; the three largest manufacturers of RAM and fast storage in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2017202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2017202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2017202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2017202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2017202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}