History

2000

• Razer/kärna sponsors the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) Event with an unprecedented prize pot of US$100,000.
• Razer partners with one of the world’s first professional gamers, Jonathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, the Quake, Doom, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, and Unreal Tournament player who scores $450,000 in prize winnings.
• With the dot-com bust, kärna discontinues business operations and closes down.

2005

• Min and Robert acquire the rights from kärna to the Razer brand and establish Razer Inc in San Diego, California.
• Min takes on the role of CEO and Creative Director of Razer while Robert takes the role of President.
• Min coins Razer’s tagline and mission, “For Gamers. By Gamers.™”
• Razer launches the Razer Diamondback gaming mouse which becomes one of the top selling gaming products of all time, surpassing the Razer Boomslang.

2006

• Razer establishes the regional Asia-Pacific HQ in Singapore.
• In collaboration with Microsoft, the Habu gaming mouse and the Reclusa gaming keyboard are designed by Razer and marketed under the Microsoft/Razer co-brand.
• Razer sponsors Esports team, Fnatic – home to professionals such as Sander “Vo0” Kaasjager, who has won more than half of all Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) World Tour stops.
• The Razer DeathAdder gaming mouse launches, becoming not only the bestselling gaming mouse in the world, but one of Razer’s most iconic products to date.

2007

• The Razer Mako 2.1 debuts at CES, as the first desktop speaker system to incorporate THX Ground Plane™ and THX Slot Speaker™ technologies.
• Razer expands to Europe and establishes regional European HQ in Hamburg, Germany.

2008

• Team Razer Warcraft III Esports athletes Xiao Feng “Sky” Lu and Jaeho “Moon” Jang both bear the Olympic torch at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
• Razer opens R&D center in San Francisco, California.
• Razer sponsors one of the world’s most dominant Esports teams, Evil Geniuses – home to Warcraft III legend, Manuel “Grubby” Schenkhuizen, and Quake veteran, Paul “czm” Nelson.
• Razer sponsors the first Team Liquid StarLeague, a highly-popular non-Korean StarCraft: Brood War tournament run by one of the world’s largest StarCraft communities.

2009

• Engineered with world’s first gaming-grade wireless technology, the Razer Mamba also makes headlines as the fastest mouse of its time.
• Razer launches the Razer Sphex Esports edition mouse mats with Sky, Team Dignitas, MeetYourMakers, and Mousesports.

2010

• Razer invests more into Esports and sponsors top Korean pro-gaming organization, WeMade FOX, home to top Esports talents in Warcraft III and Counter-Strike 1.6.
• Razer establishes China HQ in Shanghai, China.
• Razer’s first mechanical gaming keyboard, the Razer BlackWidow, surpasses all others in performance and popularity.

2011

• Gaming controller for Xbox 360, the Razer Onza, revolutionizes console Esports and earns rave reviews and awards.
• The first of Razer’s systems, the Razer Switchblade Concept wins the prestigious Best of CES award.
• Razer partners with one of the early names in eSports, Team Liquid – StarCraft II community forum and professional team.
• Team Razer sponsors South Korean StarCraft: Brood War Esports athlete and national celebrity, SlayerS_BoxeR, as well as two infamous PvE World of Warcraft guilds, Manaflask and Method.
• Razer’s technology center opens in Austin, Texas.
• Razer opens next R&D center in Taipei, Taiwan.
• Razer sponsors an official Esports league sponsored by IGN in Las Vegas, the IGN Pro League 3.
• Razer unveils the Razer Blade, the world’s thinnest gaming laptop.
• Razer releases Razer Synapse, the world’s first cloud-based storage for personalized game settings.
• One of China’s largest Esports organization and home to a world elite Dota 2 team, LGD, joins Team Razer.

2012

• Project Fiona, the gaming PC and tablet hybrid, makes its debut at CES.
• Razer dominates at CES, winning four awards with Project Fiona and the Razer Blade.
• Razer launches the Kraken line – its bestselling family of ergonomic PC gaming headsets.
• Razer sponsored Esports team, Taipei Assassins, wins the RIOT Season 2 finals and takes home $1,000,000.
• Team Razer grows to more than 400 strong, consisting of over 50 competitive gaming teams from 35 countries, and nets a total of US$3 million in prize money.

2013

• Team Razer sponsors KTRolster, the premier Korean professional gaming team which is home to one of the most accomplished Esports athletes of all time, Lee “Flash” Young Ho, also known as “God”.
• The world’s most powerful tablet, the Razer Edge, takes home the highest awards at CES.
• Together with Evil Geniuses, Team Razer founds Alliance – formerly Team No Tidehunter, who go on to win Valve’s Esports tournament, The International 3, and is awarded over US$1 million in prize money.
• The world’s first professional Hearthstone player, Jeffrey “Trump” Shih, joins Team Razer.
• Team Razer snags over 180 podium placements throughout the year and nets US$3.5 million in prize money.

2014

• Razer announces another world’s first – the Razer Nabu, a wearable device capable of notifications, fitness tracking, band-to-band social connectivity, and gamification.
• Project Christine wins ‘Best PC’ at CES.
• For the fourth consecutive year, Razer scores the Best of CES – People’s Choice Award.
• Co-founder Robert Krakoff steps down from active President role to an advisory role as President Emeritus.
• Chroma lighting makes its debut on the Razer BlackWidow Chroma mechanical gaming keyboard, marking the beginning of this highly comprehensive multicolor ecosystem.
• Razer launches its first product for streamers and broadcasters – the Razer Seirēn digital microphone.
• Razer teams up with NZXT™, producing the first product of this collaboration program, the NZXT H440 – Designed by Razer.
• Team Razer snags over 280 podium placements and nets US$4 million in prize money, more than the winnings in 2013.

2015

• Razer celebrates 10th year founding anniversary.
• Razer wins the Best of CES – People’s Choice Award for the fifth year running and snags ‘Best Gaming’ with the Android TV micro-console, Razer Forge TV.
• Team Razer signs Call of Duty teams, Team eLevate, Prophecy, and Automatic Reload.
• First RazerStore opens in Taipei.
• Team Razer sponsors the world’s largest extreme sports event featuring eSports, the MLG X Games, where Team eLevate takes the bronze.
• Team Razer sponsors 2013 League of Legends (LoL) World Champions, SK Telecom T1, widely regarded as the world’s most dominant LoL team, and home to the renowned Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
• Second and third Razer Stores open in Manila, Philippines and Bangkok, Thailand.

2016

• Fourth and fifth Razer Stores open in San Francisco, USA and Shanghai, China.
• Razer wins “Best of CES” for the sixth year running for the Blade Stealth laptop for the “Best PC” category, as well as the “People’s Choice” award.
• Audiovisual icon THX is acquired by Razer.
• Razer launches zVentures, earmarks up to $30 Million for startups and emerging tech.
• OSVR announces $5 million developer fund.
• Razer Blade family goes on sale in Europe.
• Razer releases world’s first ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard switch, Razer’s first licensed PlayStation peripherals – the Razer Raiju Esports controller and the Razer Panthera arcade stick are launched.
• Razer Ornata, the world’s first mechanical-membrane keyboard, is launched at Pax West.
• Overwatch, Deus Ex and Tomb Raider licensed Razer peripherals are launched.
• Team Razer’s SKT Telecom T1 wins League of Legends Worlds Championship for the third year in a row.

2017

• Razer wins “Best of CES” for the seventh year running for Project Ariana (“Best Gaming” as well as the “People’s Choice” awards).
• Mobile start-up Nextbit is acquired by Razer.
• Razer BlackWidow Chroma V2 launched.