If you’re into PC gaming, then you will likely be familiar with gaming PC component and peripheral maker Corsair. In the same vein, if you’re very into custom keyboards, then you may be familiar with the name Drop, formerly known as Massdrop. Now, the two have announced that the former is acquiring the latter.
In the announcement, Corsair acknowledges that “personalised keyboards that can be modified by the consumer is one of the fastest growing trends in the gaming peripheral space”. With the acquisition, the company gets to extend the level of customisation that Drop is known for to its own customers. The latter, on the other hand, will benefit from the former’s wider logistics footprint, making its own products more widely available.
The acquisition of Drop adds to the already pretty substantial list of acquisitions by Corsair, which now also owns Elgato, Scuf and Origin PC. Of the three, this acquisition is probably most reminiscent of when it got Scuf to join its umbrella, as that is a company known for its custom and modular controllers. Though while controllers are naturally a gaming peripheral, adding Drop – a company that caters more towards typing than gaming – into the Corsair portfolio can seem just a tad out of left field. That’s not to say that there’s no overlap between the two, of course.
In a statement to The Verge, Corsair spokesperson Harry Butler says that the parent company will be “evaluating the non-keyboard aspects” of Drop’s business as time goes on, but will not be making changes right away. Which, perhaps surprisingly, involves partnerships with other brands to offer headphones as well as amps, in addition to desk mats and other accessories. There will probably be some overlaps with an existing brand under the Corsair umbrella to be trimmed, but neither of the brand is saying anything in an official capacity yet.
