Is 32 GB of RAM the new minimum for gaming, or is 16 still fine?

Building for a friend on a budget. Every guide now says 32 GB. His games are a few years old. Is 16 GB genuinely limiting now, or is this reviewers spending other people's money?

For a few-years-old game library, 16 GB is still fine and he will not notice. Where 32 GB earns its keep: the newest open-world titles, anything with big mods, streaming while playing, and having a browser with forty tabs open behind the game (which is everyone).

Since RAM is one of the cheaper parts of a build and one of the most annoying to upgrade later, my rule is: if the difference is under 15% of the total budget, get 32 GB now. If the budget is that tight, 16 GB and a better GPU is the right call; the GPU is what he will actually feel.