16GB RAM Still Meets Game Minimums; Some Recommend 32GB

16GB of RAM still meets the stated minimum of all five big PC games we checked, and matches the recommended figure for two of them. But Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Borderlands 4 already recommend 32GB, so for a gaming machine you will keep for years, and above all a laptop whose memory cannot be changed, 32GB is where the most demanding requirements point.

Players have already moved. Valve’s Steam Hardware & Software Survey for September 2026 puts 32GB in 42.22% of machines, ahead of 16GB at 37.82%. A month earlier it was the other way round.

What the Steam survey shows

Valve’s September figures, all platforms combined, as shown on its survey page on 6 October:

System RAM	Share, September 2026	Change from August
8 GB	6.47%	−0.99 points
16 GB	37.82%	−3.38 points
24 GB	2.56%	+0.34 points
32 GB	42.22%	+4.77 points
64 GB	3.71%	−0.26 points

Working back from Valve’s change column, August had 16GB at 41.20% and 32GB at 37.45%. Windows machines alone show a wider gap: 43.28% on 32GB, 37.60% on 16GB. The Verge reported the switch on 2 October and Tom’s Hardware on 5 October, both noting it came in the middle of a memory shortage.

Read it for what it is. Valve says participation is “optional, and anonymous”, so the survey counts what the people who answered own. A majority owning 32GB says where the market has gone. It does not mean a game needs 32GB.

What games and Windows ask for

The publishers’ own system requirements, as listed on each game’s Steam store page on 6 October 2026:

Game	Minimum RAM	Recommended RAM
Counter-Strike 2	8 GB	None listed
Cyberpunk 2077	12 GB	16 GB
Battlefield 6	16 GB	16 GB
Borderlands 4	16 GB	32 GB
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024	16 GB	32 GB

16GB clears every minimum here, and three of the five list 16GB as their floor. Windows 11 itself, per Microsoft’s specifications page, needs 4GB.

The recommended column is where 32GB appears. “Recommended” is the memory each publisher pairs with its recommended processor and graphics card; the listings name those parts but give no resolution or frame rate, so they do not tell you how a game behaves on 16GB at your settings. They do tell you which way requirements are heading, and two of the most demanding current games have already got there.

Why it matters more on a laptop

On a desktop with free memory slots, 16GB now is not a final decision. You can add more later, after checking the motherboard manual for what it accepts.

Many laptops do not give you that option. If the specification sheet says the memory is soldered, the amount you buy is the amount you keep, and that is the case where 32GB is the safer choice for a machine meant to last. Our piece on what to spend on in a laptop sale makes the same argument for memory over storage, and how to check your laptop’s real RAM limit shows where to find the slot count and ceiling for your exact model.

The price question

Memory is expensive and makers do not expect that to change quickly. Ars Technica reported on 1 October 2026 that Micron and Samsung executives expect the shortage to continue through 2028, with Micron’s chief executive, Sanjay Mehrotra, telling investors that the “supply-demand environment is only getting tighter”. Ars adds that PC makers have responded by offering lower memory configurations at higher prices. Raspberry Pi and Nvidia have both put recent price rises down to memory.

So buying 16GB now and adding memory later when it is cheap is a plan the makers’ own forecasts, as reported, do not support before 2028. We are not forecasting prices; that is what the companies selling the memory have said.

When 16GB is still enough

• You mainly play esports and older games. Counter-Strike 2 lists 8GB as its minimum.
• You are building or buying a desktop with free slots, and would rather spend the difference on the graphics card now.
• Your games’ requirements say 16GB recommended. Battlefield 6 and Cyberpunk 2077 do.

If you already have 16GB and a game hitches, look at what is using memory before buying more: in Windows, Task Manager’s Performance tab shows how much is in use while the game runs. Hitches that come back in the same places every time are often storage rather than memory, as our explainer on why games stutter on a fast PC sets out.

Questions people ask

Is 16GB RAM enough for gaming in 2026?

For most games, yes. 16GB meets the minimum of all five big PC games we checked, and matches the recommended figure for Cyberpunk 2077 and Battlefield 6. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Borderlands 4 recommend 32GB.

Should I get 16GB or 32GB in a new gaming laptop?

32GB if the memory is soldered, because you cannot add more later and two of the five games we checked already recommend it. 16GB is a reasonable saving on a laptop whose specification sheet lists free or replaceable SODIMM slots.

What percentage of Steam users have 32GB of RAM?

42.22% in Valve’s September 2026 survey, all platforms combined, up 4.77 points in a month. 16GB is second at 37.82%. Counting Windows machines alone, 32GB is at 43.28%.

Do any games require 32GB of RAM?

None of the five we checked requires it as a minimum. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and Borderlands 4 list 32GB as their recommended memory, with 16GB as the minimum.

Will RAM prices go down soon?

Memory makers do not expect it soon. Ars Technica reported on 1 October 2026 that Micron and Samsung executives expect the shortage to last through 2028, with Micron’s CEO saying supply and demand are “only getting tighter”.

Is 8GB of RAM enough for gaming?

Only for lighter games. Counter-Strike 2 lists 8GB as its minimum, but Battlefield 6, Borderlands 4 and Flight Simulator 2024 all list 16GB as theirs. 6.47% of Steam machines had 8GB in September 2026.