HP has announced its intention to acquire HyperX, the gaming division of Kingston Technology. HyperX is responsible for a range of gaming peripherals, including keyboards, mice, microphones, and most famously headsets. Its Cloud gaming headsets have been strong contenders in our best gaming headset guide, where it tends to punch well above its pricing.
HP's justification for the purchase shouldn't come as too much of a shock to us PC gamers, as it's built on the prediction that the PC hardware industry will be worth $70 billion by 2023, and that, "The global peripherals market is expected to grow to $12.2 billion by 2024, with gaming peripherals representing a disproportionate share of this growth."
HP will pay $425 million for HyperX, and the deal is expected to be completed by Q2 2021. It's worth noting that Kingston will keep making DRAM, flash, and SSD products for gamers, so we won't be saying goodbye to Kingston, although it's through its peripheral division that it is probably best known.
HP has been trying to be taken seriously by the gaming crowd for a while now, and apart from producing some decent gaming machines under its Omen brand, it also has a range of gaming peripherals.
It's fair to say that the peripherals we've seen developed by HP internally have been functional, but not exactly exciting—the sort of kit that's better than the bundles you get with some new systems, but nothing to rush out and upgrade to. This should change with the acquisition of a well-respected brand.
Maybe now we can finally forget all about the HP Omen Mindframe.