Is NVIDIA's Priority Access Program For RTX 50 Over? NVIDIA Issues Status Update
It's been about two and a half months since NVIDIA rolled out its flagship GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card to retail, and nearly as long since it brought back its Verified Priority Access lottery program to help gamers score a Founders Edition model direct from NVIDIA. Some things have changed since then—including the tariffs situation—but the stock shortage remains. This raises the question, is the VPA program still in effect? NVIDIA's answer is 'No. Wait, yes!'.
The confusion stemmed from an online chat that Reddit user souptime_mp4 had with an NVIDIA customer support representative. Here's how the exchange went (partially edited for readability)...
Souptime_mp4: Hi, is VPA program still available since I don't see a release in the last two weeks?
NVIDIA Rep: Sorry, the VPA access has been ended.
Souptime_mp4: So it is discontinued?
NVIDIA Rep: yes
Souptime_mp4: Is it like forever or just because of the tariffs stuff?
NVIDIA Rep: Currently it's stopped and we do not have information about a future release so I cannot comment on it.
The chat has since been erased from the Reddit thread, though not before Videocardz could snap a screenshot (in case you want to see the unedited version). It was removed because the chat rep was supposedly misinformed.
NVIDIA's software quality assurance spokesman, Manuel Guzman (who goes by pidge2K on Reddit), chimed in with a clarification. In no uncertain terms, he wrote, "VPA for the GeForce 50 series Founders Edition graphics cards has not ended."
It's not clear why the chat rep was under the impression that the VPA program had ended. As of right now, you can still head to NVIDIA's VPA page and register your interest in FE versions of the GeForce RTX 5090, GeForce RTX 5080, and GeForce RTX 5070.
Anecdotally, my adult son recently bragged to me that he was selected and ended up buying a GeForce RTX 5090 before his indicated deadline (March 13th).
The big appeal of the program is that it offers a chance to buy a highly sought-after graphics card in Founders Edition form, and get it at NVIDIA's baseline MSRP for whichever card you're interested in. Even custom models are hard to find in stock, and when you do, they're typically priced hundreds of dollars above the MSRP for an FE equivalent. So, it's good to know that the program is still intact.
