The video game peripheral and hardware manufacturer Razer is looking to jump into the smartphone market by creating a device specifically developed for mobile games.
Razer CEO Ming-Liang Tan confirmed the company’s plans to CNBC recently, saying that the device should be out before year-end.
The news that Razer is looking to dip into the mobile gaming market shouldn’t come as much of a shock to game developers, given the both the rising popularity of the platform and Razer’s earlier acquisition of the Android phone startup Nextbit.
"One of the most hotly rumored things about Razer is that we're coming up with a mobile device. And I can say that we are coming up with a mobile device specifically geared toward gamers and entertainment,” said Tan. “The mobile market is one of those that we've taken a long-term view to look at ... We realized that a lot of our gamers are also passionate about the mobile gaming market, so we've done a couple of moves."
For Razer, the announcement comes as the company is working toward an initial public offering in Hong Kong at a valuation rumored to be between $3 billion and $5 billion. Tan did not detail how much the company was hoping to bring in through the IPO, instead saying the funds would be "a substantial float” for the company and its R&D efforts.
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