Published 14 September 2020 • Inter IKEA newsroom
IKEA brings gaming home in latest collaboration
IKEA teams up with ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) to develop a new range of affordable gaming furniture and accessories to bring the gaming experience at home to a new level. The range will launch in China from February 2021 and in other IKEA markets from October 2021.
Around one-quarter of the global population (2.5 billion) are gamers\*, yet the needs of gaming lovers in terms of home furnishing have, so far, been overlooked. With the rapid growth of the gaming market across the world and the fast-growing number of people playing, IKEA is curious about how home furnishing could improve the gaming experience and life around it. Last year, teaming up with UNYQ and Area Academy, IKEA started to explore the world of gaming, and now the company is taking the next steps into it.
Together with a new collaborating partner, Republic of Gamers, IKEA will launch the first series of around 30 products designed specifically for gamers, to bring the comfort of the gaming experience to a new level.
Republic of Gamers (ROG) is one of the leading brands in gaming industry, designing high quality, innovative hardware and gear for gamers. By teaming up with ROG, IKEA wants to combine home furnishing knowledge with ROG’s expertise in creating exceptional gaming experience. Together, we set out to help the many gamers (and their families) welcome gaming home through developing the new range of affordable and ergonomic gaming furniture & accessories, designed to increase performance while also blend in beautifully with homes.
The new gaming range was developed in an IKEA Product Development Centre in Shanghai, China. As a starting point for the product development process, IKEA and ROG designers and engineers held several workshops together with professional gamers and gaming lovers in Shanghai, to explore the home furnishing needs of gamers and identify the list of functions needed to secure a high-quality gaming experience at home.
Ewa Rychert, Global Business Leader of Workspace, says: “There are a lot of existing conventions about gaming which are often stereotypical or negative, for example, that all games are built on violence, gaming is asocial and it is predominantly a men’s activity. In fact, research shows\*\* that gaming is among the most truly cross-demographic activities, and it can improve an individual's mental health and general well-being. It’s a source of relaxation, independence, fun; through gaming, people develop skills within problem solving, teamwork and communication. Playing games also provides a new way of connecting with others which has become even more important recently to feel connected remotely. We hope that the new gaming range will help to embrace and enable the benefits of gaming in life at home. ”
”ROG is thrilled to be partnering with IKEA to create the ultimate gaming lifestyle for gamers. Gamers have always dreamed of the perfect gaming space that is both comfortably functional and enables full immersion in games. With years of experience delivering innovative gaming solutions to gamers, ROG has a strong understanding of the gaming community. Together with IKEA as an expert in home furnishing, we envision that this collaboration will create synergies that empower gamers to build the gaming space they have always imagined in the comfort of their own homes,” says Kris Huang, General Manager of ASUS Gaming Gear and Accessory Business Unit.
\* Source: NEWZOO GLOBAL GAMES MARKET REPORT 2020
\*\* Source: ESA ESSENTIAL FACTS 2020; Male and Female Gamers: How Their Similarities and Differences Shape the Games Market, Newzoo Report 2017