Quoting: KimyrielleTo be fair, 32GB RAM have been sort of standard for gaming PCs for a while now. Also, these decisions were very likely made before the RAM prices went out of control, which started only a few months ago.

Not as long as you might think, and you don't design games for the top-end. You go by averages. Part of the point of PC gaming is having settings to bring things down to more acceptable levels is it not? Going by the Steam survey, over 50% have 16GB or less RAM. It's absolutely mad to make 1080p at 60FPS need a minimum of 32GB lol, locking away over half your potential sales for what people expect from a game.