Dell buys gaming PC specialist Alienware

Leading PC manufacturer Dell has acquired Miami-based gaming PC specialist Alienware for an undisclosed sum, with the announcement reaffirming Dell's commitment to the sector only hours after firm unveiled its own new gaming PC range.

However, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose today, a Dell spokesperson said that Alienware would be operated as an entirely independent subsidiary, and that the acquisition would not affect the new XPS Renegade range in any way.

The deal, which has been rumoured for several weeks thanks to a blog post made by the CEO of VoodooPC, one of Alienware's rivals, had previously been strongly denied by both Dell and Alienware.

One impact of the acquisition which is still being digested by the technology markets is the fact that it marks the first time that Dell or any of its subsidiaries will have shipped PCs based on AMD processors. Alienware has a strong range of AMD systems, while Dell has - until now - based its range entirely on Intel processors.

For the games market, however, what it indicates is yet another strong signal of commitment from the world's largest PC manufacturer to the specialist gaming PC market, especially in the light of Dell's claim that it will continue to support its own XPS gaming systems after the Alienware acquisition.