ROCCAT
German gaming hardware brand acquired by Turtle Beach in 2019.
Roccat GmbH was a German computer accessories manufacturer based in Hamburg, founded in 2006. It was known for gaming hardware such as mice, keyboards, headsets, and mouse pads, and was the titular sponsor of former German professional esports organization Team ROCCAT. The brand was acquired by Turtle Beach Corporation in 2019 and discontinued in 2024, with many product lines transitioning under the Turtle Beach brand.
Quick Facts
- Industry
- PC accessories
- Fate
- Acquired (2019) and merged (2024) by Turtle Beach
- Predecessor
- <!-- or
- Founder
- René Korte
- Defunct
- 2024
- Hq Location City
- Hamburg, Germany
- Area Served
- Worldwide
- Num Employees
- c. 110 (2016)
- Parent
- Turtle Beach
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Roccat GmbH was founded in 2006 by former Razer Vice President of Europe, René Korte, in Hamburg, Germany. The company also had offices in Taipei, Taiwan, and Cerritos, Los Angeles, United States. In 2019, the assets of the Roccat brand were acquired by Turtle Beach Corporation for 19.2 million US dollars, after which Roccat was used as Turtle Beach's PC brand. Turtle Beach announced in April 2024 that the Roccat brand was being retired, with many of its product lines transitioning under the Turtle Beach brand.
Roccat's flagship keyboard series was the Vulcan line, for which the company developed its own switches called Titan Switch Optical in cooperation with TTC. These switches use a beam of light that hits an optical signal when a button is pressed, replacing conventional physical contact. According to the manufacturer, the response time of keystrokes should be registered 40 times faster, and up to 100 million clicks should be possible instead of 50 million clicks compared to conventional mechanical keyboards. Features such as RGB lighting, scroll speed, polling rate, DPI, and key profiles could be set using the free Roccat Swarm software, which was succeeded by Turtle Beach Swarm II after the brand's discontinuation.
Reader's Guide
Roccat was a significant player in the European gaming peripherals market, belonging to the 10 best-selling gaming peripheral brands in Europe. According to Newzoo consumer surveys, it was one of the four leading brands in terms of awareness, buying behavior, and preference for gaming keyboards and mice in the German PC gaming market. German IT news online magazine Golem.de described Roccat as considered high quality and renowned for the buyer. The Vulcan keyboard series garnered numerous editorial awards and high praise from gamers. In 2016, Roccat was awarded the Deutscher Gründerpreis (German Founders Award) in the category Aufsteiger (newcomer). The brand's legacy lies in its innovative optical switch technology and its role as Turtle Beach's PC brand before being retired in 2024.
Did You Know?
- The Vulcan keyboard series used Titan Switch Optical switches developed with TTC.
- Roccat was awarded the Deutscher Gründerpreis in 2016 in the newcomer category.
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