HP’s bullish stance on the future demand for PC gaming has seen it make an agreement to buy HyperX, a gaming division of memory vendor Kingston. HyperX is known for its gaming peripherals, most notably, Alloy Origins keyboard and Cloud series of headsets. This reputation is, in fact, the main driver of its latest acquisition, announced on Wednesday.
In announcing the deal, the American tech company cites HyperX’s strategy to grow HP’s PC business. “We see significant opportunities in the large and growing peripherals market, and the addition of HyperX to our portfolio will drive new sources of innovation and growth for our business,” says HP CEO and President Enrique Lores, according to PCMag.
Lores notes that the company has “technology…trusted by gamers around the world” and is, thus, “thrilled to welcome their outstanding team to the HP family.” The OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) estimates that the peripherals market will be worth US$12.2 billion by 2024, the gaming sector of which is projected to represent “a disproportionate share of this growth.”
HP will pay $425 million to acquire HyperX, and the deal is expected to close in Q2. However, only gaming peripherals are covered in the deal, such as keyboards and mice—not any HyperX RAM products.
By 2024, HP expects the global peripherals market to reach $12 billion, with much of the growth represented by gaming-related peripherals. At the same time, Esports, which is a big market for HyperX, has been booming.
HyperX will join Omen, HP’s existing PC gaming division, in selling products to consumers. Keyboards, mice, and headsets are all developed by the Omen brand, but it’s perhaps better known for creating gaming laptops.
As for Kingston, it will retain control of SSD memory hardware, DRAM, and flash under HyperX. The company “has rights to use the HyperX brand for memory products for an undisclosed amount of time,” it says. “We will then transition the DRAM and flash products from HyperX to a different brand, which will be announced at a later time,” HP says more details will be shared after the deal closes.
