There are 2.5 billion gamers around the world, a diverse group united by their love of e-sports and gaming – and by being an overlooked group from a life-at-home perspective. But that is about to change: the new gaming range developed by IKEA in collaboration with Republic of Gamers (ROG) was launched at IKEA China on January 29, 2021. From May 2021 it will be available at IKEA Japan, and from October 2021 the range will be sales started globally. Gaming is more than a fun past-time. It is a way to wind down and take your mind off everyday hassles, and to connect with people everywhere. For some, it is even a livelihood. With an ever-increasing number of gamers worldwide and a rapidly growing market, getting into gaming was a natural step for IKEA.
At IKEA, we know a lot about smart home furnishing solutions, but we are novices at gaming. So, how to create a properly high-performing gaming range? To contribute to a better everyday life for all gamers, IKEA partnered with ROG (Republic of Gamers), an ASUS sub-brand, keeping the leading position in gaming industry and designing high quality, innovative hardware and gear for gamers. ROG has in-depth knowledge of the gaming industry and want to find new ways to make gaming blend into the home. Combining the best of these two worlds, the collaboration aimed to democratise the gaming experience, by creating relevant, functional, beautiful and affordable products and complete gaming solutions to make it easier for everyone to create the setup and the home they want.
The new gaming range will target PC gamers and include six product families: HUVUDSPELARE, UTESPELARE, MATCHSPEL, GRUPPSPEL, UPPSPEL, LÅNESPELARE. All UPPSPEL products have been designed by IKEA and ROG in close collaboration. The remaining product families have been developed by IKEA based on the insights and knowledge gained from the collaboration to ensure the width of the total gaming offer and to meet the various needs of IKEA customers in terms of function, design and price.
In total, the new gaming range includes more than 30 products, covering both furniture – gaming desks and chairs, a drawer unit – and accessories – a mug holder, a mouse bungee, a neck pillow, a ring light and many more. Each product family offers a gaming desk and a chair of different price range to meet the needs of different target groups.
The new gaming range was launched at IKEA China on January 29, 2021. From May 2021 it will be available at IKEA Japan, and from October 2021 the range will be sales started globally.
“Gamers globally know and love the ROG brand and they trust it to deliver the most exciting gaming innovations in the market,” says Kris Huang, General Manager of the ASUS Gaming Gear and Accessory Business Unit. “Our new partnership with the experts at IKEA will allow ROG to find new and interesting ways to delight gamers in and around the home.”
“The needs of billions of gamers around the globe are very diverse, whereas the existing offer is rather technical and often perceived as masculine design-wise, despite around 46% of gamers being female. We believe there’s a lot to be done to democratise the gaming experience”, says Ewa Rychert, Global Business Leader of Workspace, IKEA of Sweden. “Now we take the first step on our gaming journey, and we do it by presenting affordable, high-performing gaming products and complete solutions that we hope reflect people’s personality and taste”.
