Update: Nvidia confirmed on this blog that the delay is to ensure that channels have plenty of stock at launch.

Nvidia has delayed the launch of the GeForce RTX 3070 by two weeks to October 29; if you visit the RTX 3070 page on Nvidia's website, you will notice that a small detail has been added under the Notify Me button. Previously, Nvidia had indicated that the RTX 3070 would be available on October 15, although this was not directly mentioned on the site.

Given the performance of the Nvidia RTX 3080 and RTX 3090, we are confident that the RTX 3070 will be fantastic. Therefore, it will be worth the wait.

Nvidia has not had much luck with its first two launches. First, there is the ongoing problem of actually being able to get cards, with demand for new cards far exceeding initial inventory. This is not helping, as resellers buy the cards and then migrate straight to eBay to try to make a few pennies.

This was followed up by reports of new RTX 3080 cards crashing. Speculation was rife that this was due to the quality of the capacitors used, which drew considerable flak from pundits and manufacturers. Eventually, however, Nvidia released a new driver that seems to have calmed things (and clock speeds) somewhat.

Nvidia needs a smoother launch of the RTX 3070 and this delay will surely help. We expect that Nvidia moved the date up two weeks because they want to make sure the channel has enough stock before releasing it to the public. And we expect that demand for the more expensive card will pale in comparison to demand for this more affordable $499 (£469) card.

But there is another reason why this delay could work in Nvidia's favor: AMD plans to announce its Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards on October 28. Does this mean that Nvidia will steal Radeon's thunder by watering it down?

Rumor has it that AMD's Big Navi will offer performance somewhere between RTX 3070 and RTX 3080, which could be a confusing message for AMD if Nvidia's cards are not available at the time of the announcement. how AMD handles this announcement AMD will have to wait and see how they handle this announcement.