Razer acquires Ouya assets and team
UPDATE: Razer will retain 15 Ouya employees including Kellee Santiago, but Julie Uhrman will leave the company
Since June, the rumormill has been pointing towards a possible acquisition of the Ouya platform by Razer, and today the company confirmed our suspicions as it officially announced that it's picked up Ouya's software assets, with the former Ouya team joining Razer as well. The transaction closed back on June 12, but specific financial details of the deal are not being disclosed.
It's important to note that Razer is not acquiring Ouya hardware and will instead point its users towards its own Forge TV micro-console. "Razer's intention is to allow Ouya users to bring their games, controllers, and accounts to the Cortex TV platform on the Forge micro-console, advancing the experience of Android gaming on TV that they have previously enjoyed. Additionally, Razer is planning deep product discounts for incoming Ouya users to purchase Razer hardware, and a spate of freebies, giveaways, and promotions to enjoy on their new Forge consoles," the company explained.
"Razer is the perfect home for Ouya and the team that made it all happen," said Ouya co-founder and CEO Julie Uhrman. "They can take the Ouya platform to new places, inspiring developers and embracing gamers, everywhere."
"Razer has a long-term vision for Android TV and Android-based TV consoles, such as the Xiaomi Mi Box and Alibaba Tmall Box, to which Ouya already publishes," added Razer Co-Founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan. "Ouya's work with game developers, both triple-A and indies, went a long way in bringing Android games to the living room and Razer intends to further that work. This acquisition is envisaged to usher more developers and content to the Android TV platform."
Razer plans to eventually re-launch the Ouya store as Cortex for Android TV, and the company said it's committed to "significant development of the Forge TV micro-console, controllers and software solutions to enhance the home entertainment experience." Part of that includes increased investment in developer and publisher programs, Razer noted.
Update: Razer will retain 15 employees from Ouya's technical and developer relations teams as part of the acquisition deal.
That includes Kellee Santiago, former president of thatgamecompany, who joined Ouya as its head of developer relations in February 2013. All retained staff have joined the software team at Razer.
But Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman will not make the transition. Speaking to Polygon, Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan said, "She is actively helping us with the transition.”