AMD's highly anticipated RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards, unveiled at CES 2025, are finally getting a release date: March 2025. This announcement, made via Twitter/X by David McAfee, VP & GM of Radeon Graphics and Ryzen CPUs, confirms the arrival of these RDNA 4 GPUs. While McAfee touted a "wide assortment of cards available globally," crucially missing from his statement were specifics on pricing and detailed specifications.

Despite the lack of official details, the cards have reportedly already reached retailers and reviewers. eTeknix, for example, has confirmed receiving review samples. This pre-release distribution has fueled speculation about AMD's strategic decision to delay the official launch.

The timing raises questions. The March release puts the RX 9070 series directly against Nvidia's February releases of the RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti. Industry analysts suggest this delay could be a calculated move to allow for direct performance and pricing comparisons, potentially mitigating the impact of Nvidia's offerings. Another theory points to pricing pressure from Nvidia as a contributing factor to the delayed launch.

The current market landscape, with Nvidia commanding a dominant 88% of the discrete GPU market (leaving AMD with just 12%), underscores the importance of this launch for AMD. The company needs a strong showing to make inroads against Nvidia's significant market share. The lack of clear communication surrounding the RX 9070 series launch, however, has created a somewhat muddled and confusing picture for consumers.