As US tariffs hit, PC hardware is joining the Switch 2 in pre-order delay limbo

Stock markets tanked and gaming laptops went into hiding this morning as US President Donald Trump’s globe-spanning tariffs came into effect. Based on nonsense maths, these heavy taxes on imported goods are already sowing havoc within the gaming hardware industry, leaving manufacturers – whose production operations are commonly based in China and Taiwan – to scramble together a plan. Most headlines have focused on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2’s US pre-orders being delayed as a result, but PC gear is very much following suit, with Razer pausing direct sales for its new Blade 16 and Blade 18 laptops. Read more

Apr 9, 2025 - 12:04

As US tariffs hit, PC hardware is joining the Switch 2 in pre-order delay limbo

Stock markets tanked and gaming laptops went into hiding this morning as US President Donald Trump’s globe-spanning tariffs came into effect. Based on nonsense maths, these heavy taxes on imported goods are already sowing havoc within the gaming hardware industry, leaving manufacturers – whose production operations are commonly based in China and Taiwan – to scramble together a plan. Most headlines have focused on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2’s US pre-orders being delayed as a result, but PC gear is very much following suit, with Razer pausing direct sales for its new Blade 16 and Blade 18 laptops.