VGTimes Interview with Razer at CES 2026: Advanced Controllers, an AI Accelerator, and a Smart Companion You Can Place on Your Desk

At CES 2026, VGTimes Editor-in-Chief Rodion Ilin visited the exhibition areas of MSI and GIGABYTE and also stopped by the Razer booth — a company that traditionally attracts gamers’ attention with its unusual and technologically advanced devices. Razer representatives gave VGTimes an interview and talked about their key gadgets.

Colby Hornick: My name is Colby Hornick. I’m a PR manager at Razer. I oversee product categories such as mice, keyboards, headsets, console audio, and controllers — essentially everything that connects to a PC for gaming.

Here you can see the products we launched in 2025 and earlier. For example, the BlackShark V3 Pro — the successor to one of the most well-regarded headsets we’ve ever released. It features excellent active noise cancellation, a high-quality microphone, and strong positional audio for high-intensity competitive games.

VGTimes: So you can clearly hear footsteps?

Colby Hornick: Exactly — all around you.

We also have the Huntsman V3 Pro 8K Tenkeyless. It’s a tenkeyless keyboard capable of reaching an 8,000 Hz polling rate. We use proprietary analog optical switch technology, which ensures consistent performance regardless of environment. Unlike magnetic switches, it’s not affected by external interference.

Of course, Razer is known as a gaming mouse company. We essentially invented the modern gaming mouse, so in 2025 we launched the DeathAdder V4 Pro — a mouse that really needs no introduction. The legendary DeathAdder.

We also have the Viper V3 Pro, which remains one of the most widely used mice among professional esports players. And here is the Wolverine V3 Tournament Edition 8K — a PC controller capable of 8,000 Hz HyperPolling.

VGTimes: It looks similar to an Xbox controller.

Colby Hornick: That’s because Xbox has the best controller form factor, in my opinion. But this one is PC-only.

Another product we launched this year is the Raiju V3 Pro — a professional-grade PlayStation controller. It uses the same mouse switches as the Viper V3 Pro for the rear paddles, so they’re very clicky and extremely responsive.

That covers the consumer products we announced over the past year. Let’s move on (we head over to the next section of the booth).

Colby Hornick: Now we’re getting into enterprise and developer-focused solutions. This device here is a compact AI accelerator, developed in partnership with Tensor. It allows you to run a large language model locally on this small unit. Razer helped design the enclosure and the interface between the PC and the device, while our partner handled the chipset itself.

Over here is where scalability really comes into play for developers. If you’re a game developer or an AI developer, we offer several powerful options. The Blade 18 is essentially a desktop replacement laptop, configurable all the way up to an RTX 5090 GPU.

VGTimes: That’s serious power.

Colby Hornick: Exactly. But if that’s still not enough, we also have the Core X V2 — an external GPU enclosure that allows you to add a second graphics card and significantly boost performance.

VGTimes: And if that’s still not enough?

Colby Hornick: Then you move up to the Razer Forge AI Dev Workstation. It supports up to four GPUs and is designed for enterprise users building next-generation AI solutions. It’s an absolute powerhouse.

And if even that isn’t enough, the system can be rack-mounted and scaled further for server environments. We offer scalable solutions — from compact setups all the way to full server-grade deployments.

We also have Project Motoko. It is Razer’s concept of a wearable AI headset. It’s designed as a platform with multiple use cases: real-time translation, step-by-step repair guidance, cooking assistance, and more.

Motoko is an AI-agnostic platform, meaning you can load your preferred chatbot directly into the headset and access that intelligence hands-free. It features dual cameras and dual microphones, allowing it to see and hear its surroundings and interact with whatever is in its field of view.

After wrapping up the conversation with Colby Hornick, we said our goodbyes and headed behind closed doors to take a look at Project AVA with assistance from another Razer representative Justin Chen.

Project AVA is Razer’s experimental AI assistant concept presented in the form of a physical device. It combines a voice-based AI system with a visual avatar displayed inside a transparent enclosure, designed to act as a persistent digital companion. According to Razer, Project AVA is envisioned as an always-available assistant that can help with gaming, productivity tasks, and everyday interactions, while observing and responding to the user in real time.

Justin Chen: You can ask the assistant for help or feedback on your gameplay. That functionality already existed in earlier versions of Project AVA, but it has since evolved into a more personal experience with holograms and multiple avatars you can choose from. For example, here we have Kira. Later, I’ll also show you Zane.

The device itself is 5.5 inches tall. It features a dual microphone array and downward-firing speakers. It picks up voice input and provides audio feedback from AVA — or whichever avatar you select. The volume controls are located on the top, and everything is connected to the PC via USB-C.

Avatar animations are handled locally on the device, while contextual data and information processing are handled in the cloud. For example, you can ask about events at CES 2026, directions, or the weather.

Hey, Kira — I forgot my jacket today. What’s the weather like in Las Vegas?

Project AVA (Kira): Don’t worry about the jacket. Las Vegas is sunny today, with highs around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Pretty mild weather.

Justin Chen: AVA can be used as a day-to-day assistant, but it also integrates with what’s displayed on your screen. That allows it to help not only with gaming, but also with productivity tasks such as summarizing emails or web pages.

For this demo, let me switch to another avatar — Zane.

Project AVA (Zane): Hey champ, I’m Zane — your gaming beast buddy from Razer. Time to get serious. How should I call you? Let’s crush this CES 2026 demo.

Justin Chen: We have Battlefield 6 running here on a laptop. If I want a good loadout for a specific weapon or class, I can just ask.

Hey, Zane, I’m playing Battlefield 6. Can you recommend a loadout for the M2010 ESR?

Project AVA (Zane): For the M2010 ESR, equip a suppressor, long-range scope, extended magazine, bipod grip, and heavy barrel to maximize precision and control at long distances. You’ll snipe like a pro. What’s your playstyle?

Justin Chen: As you can see, AVA provides useful information based on the game you’re playing and what’s currently on screen, while also remaining helpful in everyday situations.

That’s Project AVA — Razer’s AI companion. We’re currently targeting a launch in 2026. Preorders opened yesterday with a $20 reservation, while final pricing will be announced later.

VGTimes: Thank you very much.

Justin Chen: No problem. Thank you.

Article by Rodion Ilin and Fazil Dzhyndzholiia.

VGTimes has been operating since 2011 and during this time has attended dozens of exhibitions and festivals where our journalists gathered numerous exclusive materials. For example, in 2019 we attended a closed Cyberpunk 2077 showing at gamescom, in 2017 we prepared a photo report from WG Fest, in 2020 we were at Central Asia's largest gaming event CAGS, and we also visited "IgroMir" several times, where we saw Hideo Kojima and other famous developers. Last year, we traveled to the land of the rising sun for TGS 2024, where we were amazed by the scale of the event. And this year we saw with our own eyes one of Asia's major gaming exhibitions — ChinaJoy in Shanghai and gamescom asia in Bangkok.