Pieces of console maker OUYA have been acquired by Razer after at least a month of rumors and speculation, the companies confirmed on Monday.
The company behind the hackable, Android-powered $99 console that blew up on Kickstarter in 2012 is being broken up for an all-cash deal to Razer. The company will pick up OUYA's software and development teams, but not the hardware business, to bolster its own Android-powered set-top box.
Welcome to the family, @playouya. pic.twitter.com/QBkUjd4C53— Razer (@Razer) July 27, 2015
"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 co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan said in a statement.
Razer wants to migrate OUYA's existing user base to its own Forge TV microconsole, and plans to get OUYA games, controllers and accounts working on its own platform and hardware. It also plans to offer OUYA owners "deep discounts" and "freebies" to entice them over. The OUYA store will soon be rebranded as "Cortex for Forge TV."
OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman will not join the team at Razer. On Twitter, she reached out to dozens of messages from developers who had supported OUYA, other members of the game industry and people on the OUYA team.
.@brianfargo our first supporter, literally. You jumped without looking and brought others along. You always had my back.— Julie Uhrman (@juhrman) July 27, 2015
.@yvesbehar we shipped! We did what many called impossible. We did it bc you are relentless. You made OUYA better than I ever dreamed.— Julie Uhrman (@juhrman) July 27, 2015
.@Razer Can't wait to see what you do. Take care of my incredible team and community...I know you will.— Julie Uhrman (@juhrman) July 27, 2015
.@juhrman OUYA was a once in a lifetime experience. Now, I'm off to find the next...stay tuned!— Julie Uhrman (@juhrman) July 27, 2015
OUYA started as a Kickstarter project in the summer of 2012. The microconsole, which promised to open up the television space to a wider variety of developers, raised $8.6 million during its campaign. It flagged after its campaign however; backers didn't receive their units when they were promised, developers didn't widely suppor the console with games and the console wasn't as plug and play as promised.
OUYA's website still lists the console for sale, though it doesn't appear to be in stock at other retailers like Amazon. Members of the OUYA subreddit were just complaining this weekend about not seeing any consoles for sale in months. We've reached out to both OUYA and Razer to clarify what will happen to OUYA's hardware business, but with Uhrman's departure it looks like it could be left in tatters.
Mashable has reached out to both OUYA and Razer for comment, and will update this story as it develops.