Turtle Beach has revealed that it’s shutting down the Roccat brand, which it acquired in 2019 for $19 million. As one of the most prolific brands in PC gaming, Roccat has enjoyed a 20-year lifespan that grew from its origins in Germany. Before long, the brand had become a contender for the top spots in the peripherals market, going on to be publicised by the likes of Dr Disrespect and other popular content creators.
Now, Turtle Beach is retiring the brand – but retaining the product line. This news came recently out of the blue, with Turtle Beach’s spokespeople stressing the need to rely on a single brand name and identity, strengthening the Turtle Beach profile. It means little for those who consider themselves fans of Roccat’s product line, as devices like the Kone gaming mice and Vulcan keyboards will remain – but they’ll be amended to feature Turtle Beach iconography and branding.
Changing But Staying The Same
Image Credit: Roccat
Turtle Beach has made a few changes recently, including acquiring PDP, a competing company that manufactures popular gaming accessories. It completed the acquisition for a whopping $118 million, which is several times what it paid for Roccat in 2019. Turtle Beach was founded way back in 1975, getting started in the editing and music space with special keyboards and audio systems. It pivoted to focus on gaming peripherals in the 2000s, emerging as a market leader in the 2010s.
Now, the company manufactures a wide range of gaming accessories, from a vast array of headsets to one of the best wireless controllers in gaming.
Roccat has been more of an underdog brand in the last few years, but it’s still quite popular among streamers and esports competitors. It’s expected that won’t change too much given that Turtle Beach has pledged to maintain the product line. Elsewhere, Turtle Beach continues to produce some of the best gaming headphones on the market, which isn’t Roccat’s strong suit.
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