Razer hopes to launch its own brand of smartphone before 2017 ends

Gaming specialist Razer plans to launch its own brand of smartphone as early as December, barring any unforeseen circumstances. The company is confident that it has the hardware expertise to delve into a mobile device market that has experienced a speedy growth over the last few years.

Back in January, Razer acquired smartphone start-up Nextbit Systems for an unrevealed amount. The gaming company’s acquisition of the maker of the innovative cloud-based Robin Android handset was just the start of its gradual venture into the mobile industry. At the time, Nextbit’s CEO Tom Moss made it known that his company would run as an independent division under Razer, “doing exactly what we’ve been doing all along, only bigger and better.”

Fast forward to the end of July, though, and it seems that Nextbit’s technology may very well be used to develop Razer’s own brand of smartphone complete with its three-headed snake logo. The mobile phone, of course, is set to attract the California-based company’s target audience: gaming and eSports enthusiasts. Razer hopes to jumpstart its smartphone development soon and is reportedly targeting an IPO valuation between US$3 billion (AU$3.78 billion) to US$5 billion (AU$6.30 billion) to fund the process.

Razer’s venture to the smartphone industry is no surprise. After all, the global smartphone market has grown rapidly in recent years. This year, the world has a projected total of 2.6 billion smartphone users, and the numbers are only going to increase overtime.

Razer believes that its current roster of hardware products exhibits a level of knowledge and proficiency that allows the company to expand into mobile devices. Last year marked the first time that mobile games made more money that its console or PC counterparts, and it’s projected to control 42 percent of the global games market this year. The market is also estimated to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 10.6 percent between 2017 and 2021.

“As gamers are increasingly playing games on mobile devices and given the increase in mobile screen time, we see the opportunity to elevate interaction with our target users,” Razer said in its Hong Kong Stock Exchange application. “We are currently targeting to launch our first mobile device in late 2017 or early 2018 though this date may change subject to design and engineering factors.”

Razer hopes that its recent acquisitions, investments and strategic alliances will collectively boost the company’s mobile gaming chances. The DeathAdder maker also aligned with the 3 Group just a couple of months ago. The partnership with the telecommunications brand aims to entice gamers with tariff plans, the company’s exclusive virtual currency called zGold and, of course, Razer gaming phones.

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