Nvidia is officially "unlaunching" one of its 40 Series graphics cards following pushback within the PC gaming community. In late September, Nvidia unveiled its lineup of 40 Series graphics cards, including the GeForce RTX 4090 and two versions of the RTX 4080. Initial stock of the RTX 4090 is now available, but with the RTX 4080's November arrival looming, Nvidia has decided to make a change. The controversial RTX 4080 12GB card won't be arriving as expected.
Leaked specifications for Nvidia's 40 Series graphics cards had the media expecting a similar line-up of GPUs to what has been offered in previous years. There were configurations appropriate for an RTX 4090, 4080, and 4070. However, when Nvidia announced the cards, there was no 4070. Instead, there were two 4080s. Despite being presented as two similarly-performing cards, the lesser card is substantially less powerful yet priced very high. This, understandably, created some controversy within the PC gaming community.
It's this GeForce RTX 4080 12GB model that Nvidia has decided to "unlaunch." In a statement issued by the graphics card manufacturer, Nvidia explains that it's pressing the "unlaunch" button on this card, allowing the RTX 4080 16GB card to become the focus of its planned November 16 launch.
That doesn't mean that RTX 4080 12GB will be going anywhere, though. Nvidia says straight away that this isn't a cancelation. Nvidia explains that the 4080 12GB is a "fantastic card," but it admits it's "not named right." Having two cards that both have the 4080 branding is "confusing," according to Nvidia, indicating that the card will be back just as soon as it figures out an appropriate new designation.
For those hoping that this would also lead to the price of the RTX 4080 12GB being decreased, there's no such indication. If anything, the statement from Nvidia implies no price change will be coming. The second half of the statement has nothing to do with the 4080 12GB and instead applauds Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 launch, saying that there were "lines around the block" to purchase it.
All things considered, Nvidia is likely very content with the given situation. The GeForce RTX 4090 appears to be selling very well, and while rebranding the RTX 4080 12GB may seem like a step back, the card was still utilized successfully to justify increasing the price of both the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 16GB. Then there are the 30 Series cards that also continue to sell even without a traditional price cut. Plus, the RTX 3080 12GB will still go on sale soon, too. Nvidia's very likely more than happy with the situation, "unlaunch" or not.