Mad Catz comes back from the dead

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A strange teaser released in December hinted rather strongly that peripheral maker Mad Catz was coming back from the bankruptcy it filed for in early 2017. Today that resurrection was confirmed with a new video announcing that it is indeed back in business under new ownership, and with new things to show off this weekend.

"Less than a year after the much-loved brand disappeared from the gaming landscape, Mad Catz is back: under new management, with new ideas, new attitude and most importantly, an entire range of new, high-quality gaming products," the company said in a statement.

"The new Mad Catz will focus first on quality, committed to producing innovative gaming products, designed and engineered in-house to stand out amongst the competition and deliver superlative performance for gamers of all abilities."

The first of the new Mad Catz products will be previewed at CES, which begins on Sunday. Included among them will be the RAT Air (technically it's R.A.T. AIR, but we won't be doing that), an updated version of this torturous-looking monstrosity that features wireless operation powered through a "wireless activation gaming surface" as well as a USB option for those who'd rather just run it on their desktop.

Also new are the Strike 4 mechanical keyboard with aluminum frame and RGB lighting, and the Freq 4 gaming headset, built around 40mm neodymium drivers, swappable earpads, and oxygen free copper cable, which true audiophiles love because it gives them something to argue about.

"Mad Catz has been a permanent fixture in gaming for almost three decades and we firmly believe it’s best days lie ahead," Mad Catz Director of Sales and Operations Selena Change said. "Through listening to gamers worldwide, we plan to once again forge a path of innovation in the gaming hardware community, and we’re already working on delivering products which we believe will enhance gamers’ abilities and do justice to the Mad Catz name."

Ahead of the start of CES, you can get a look at the new Mad Catz stuff at madcatz.com.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.