Even after working with servers with hundreds of GBs of RAM it still amazes me how much RAM you chew through running even a small number of VMs. I built a new machine to do VMs and run a gaming VM with GPU passthrough not long ago and am already considering jumping from 64GB to 128GB on the host.
I was able to stick to 16GB on my Windows 11 gaming VM for ages. Only recently cracked because I was using the OBS replay buffer that was using 2-4GB so I upped to 24GB.
I would never recommend somebody build a new gaming system with less than 32GB now though since you will need an upgrade at some point. If you’re already running 16GB then it’s probably fine to just wait until you do a full re-build.
That said, 16GB is probably the new standard for normal PCs if you’re hoping to get 5 years out of them.
The key is that they target what most people need, and given the average Steam user has a 3060, the bar isn’t set very high. It also doesn’t have to be when your competition is consoles. Anybody who isn’t dumping their salary into PC upgrades will brag about it when they finally upgrade to a new machine, but in that 5+ year gap between upgrades, they will drift towards the average. If Valve prices it right, then they’re just selling you the equivalent of a 3 year old machine but with new parts, and that’s fine at the right price.