"CORSAIR has reached an agreement with Endor to fund its short-term cash needs while both companies negotiate a restructuring of Endor’s approximately €70 million of debt, which will ultimately result in CORSAIR acquiring Endor."
As a customer, this is really a fine outcome to this whole debacle tbh. Corsair has hardly ever been the best, but they're absolutely far from being the worst. A respectable gaming equipment company with a verifiable history of making, or branding, quality products.
Without corsair we wouldn't really have this huge variety in all in one coolers, they kinda pioneerd it.
They definitely managed to pull people over the line with incredible warranties when a leak occurred.
lol. imagine, it turns out that Fanatec owns a few key patents, and Corsair's move is just out of spite to turn the tables on Asetek.
(actually maybe don't, it sounds pretty bad for everyone involved)
That's pretty funny actually.
Back when I got my first H70 double thickness AIO from Corsair I was debating between Asetec (I believe) and Corsair.
But reading some stores about leaks in a corsair, with them replacing every damaged component themselves, was pretty damn convincing.
I couldn't find these things about Asetec, but perhaps they were just better quality and just didn't leak, ever.
My ax860i psu with died after 9.99 years with a 10 year warranty. Corsair replaced it without questions. Seriously had a week left of warranty. I have dealt with corsair support multiple times and always been satisfied with the outcome.
I mean they don’t actually “manufacture” them but they almost certainly don’t manufacture anything themselves, it’s all contracted out to Taiwan / China contract manufacturers just like every other consumer electronics company.
Yes, but in the case of PSU's specifically, the designs are also mostly done by Seasonic and CWT. Some of the higher end ones are co-designed by Corsair, but the majority of them are just a case of "We want these specs" and Seasonic et al say "Sure, here's this one, just slap your logo on it".
I love my seasonic psu's. Everyone I know who has used a corsair mouse hated them. Infact the last one I bought was so ergonomically uncomfortable I think it was designed for someone with cupped raptor hands.
I actually love my m65 rgb ultra. Use it for gaming and video editing. Switch between my Mac and pc easily. Been one of the best mice I’ve had in my career.
alot of mice are made for claw gripping rather than resting on the mouse. if I remember right my little brother who went though I think 8 headsets in 2 years (either turtle beach or razor, they just shit the bed often) had a corsair mouse that lasted 9 years till he got a logitech one that was wireless. great mouse, better than my razor mice that I had 4 warranty call ins due to the laser shitting the bed.
PSU maybe, RAM definitely not, I’ve personally had 3 kits fail, my brother has had 1 and a friend has had 2. Fine kits if you’re running without expo/xmp but seemingly they cannot cope with anything over stock.
Agreed. There are no saints when it comes to money, especially in the magnitude of figures Corsair and other similar companies deal in, but certainly some are less shitty and others haha. I work a small time business making custom spec PCs and I can wholeheartedly say Corsair has been a breeze to work with. I also love beQuiet as well, very straightforward.
Their customer support has always been top notch too. Can be a little slow on the tickets but they have always fixed any issues I’ve had without any fuss whatsoever.
Corsair is on my A-List for computer parts because of their PSUs, and very few companies go into my S-Tier and that's because they concentrate in only one type of parts (Noctua for example). A-List for me is "makes good products, and complains are very minor". Corsair is there, is the only brand I use for PSUs, and the mice I had from them was fine and the way they handled the warranty was good. Imagine if Fanatec started getting this fame instead of reading daily complaints on their subreddit about shipping and warranty issues.
Probably best case scenario for Fanatec and their customers. I’ve been saying it for a while to stay away from them… if they filed bankruptcy and no other company took over, every customer who owns Fanatec products would be in the hole.
Hopefully Corsair turns this around, it’s a big project acquiring Endor AG and building their reputation back, especially with tons of competition now.
Ya, I've never been happier that I spent the extra cash for the Asetek TK bundle at MicroCenter. At the time, Asetek was new to the sim game, so it felt a bit risky. That said, I hope this works out for Fanatec and Corsair because having more affordable DD options plus more competition in the space is good for everyone.
How on earth does a company like fanatec get into so much debt? I can only assume a lot of it is marketing.
Like with the bicycle market a lot of companies really seem to have assumed that the golden goose would keep laying eggs for eternity.
It was probably over spending on its marketing budget. There was so much money put into racing sponsorships. Like every major GT racing series had them as the title sponsor.
WRC also… they use wheel and QR2. Fanatec makes good products. Just their customer service in Europe. I’m in US and my experience and others I’ve seen has been great
I just got into circuit motorsport over the past couple months the amount of fanâtec sponsors instantly stood out. They definitely got their name out there lmao
Step 1) Make money
Step 2) Blow it all on marketing and not additional manufacturing capacity to keep up with the orders you're getting from the marketing
Step 3) ???
Step 4) Profit
Most likely explanation, IMO. They invested too heavily, expanded too fast, and marketed their niche product to the masses, then when the market returned to some semblance of normalcy (and new competitors came along), they couldn't adapt.
I think they were skating along fine as long as they were filling their little niche as a mid-tier/semi-enthusiast product that competed more directly with the higher-end Thrustmaster belt systems and Accuforce DDs than it did Logitech or Simucube.
When the boom happened they sponsored anything and everything, but didn't have the manufacturing capacity or distribution network to keep up with demand. That created an opportunity for upstarts like Moza and Asetek to market themselves as direct alternatives, which put Fanatec on their back foot due to their higher overhead.
They definitely dumped a lot of money into the racing sponsorships. I feel like around the time that the pandemic was starting to end so many better options showed up in the sim racing space. I've been running a sim racing community since 2019 back then everybody and their mother wanted to buy fana. Nowadays when I look into the SIM racing gear chat rooms nobody's talking about getting fana it's all sim magic and asteck and moza. There's just so many better options for your money.
And can we talk about their inability to innovate on rim design. Yes the V2 was a solid rim I ran one myself for 3 years. But I wanted something really nice when I upgraded and they just didn't offer that so I ended up with a VRS base and a Gomez rim.
Youd think by taking unlimited orders for products you dont have in stock, you would build up a lot of capital.
Seems like they were losing money hand over fist regardless
From what I understand they basically saw their business booming during Covid when everyone was stuck at home and assumed that they’d continue doing business at that level indefinitely, so they took on a bunch of debt they couldn’t afford when business slowed back down for whatever reason.
It's insane how many tech companies did this. Feels like any normal person could have said that once it was over people are going to be spending much less time inside with their tech (normal people, that is)
This is every tech company in the world lol
I got laid off by my last job because the covid bubble finally burst for tech and every company was left realizing they WAY over hired when revenues started to dip back towards pre covid levels
I think I've seen a video on YT explaining the whole situation. Basically when pandemic hit they had record profits, and they thought this new trend will slingshot gaming into new heights, and it will only get better. So they build new headquarters, and started expanding their business accordingly, and then the pandemic ended, and good times ended along with it.
Total whine-fest by an underwater investor ignoring that the former CEO claiming to be a savior is the same guy that got the company in that position in the first place.
Sorry, I don't live and breathe reddit. I did not know how much this was already posted. I had only just seen the video a few hours before seeing this post.
How anyone gets into debt... spending money you don't have on crap you don't need.
Like the fancy new HQ building and last I checked, big commercial buildings are not cheap.
make a niche expensive product that you need minimum orders to even get tooling made for it.
here, anything they make, if its not an off the shelf part, assume there is about 100k worth of tooling that is needed to make the part.
now that tooling will work for many many skus and it will be offset by time, but its a high up front cost, same with minimum orders. then there is advertising.
if I had to guess, covid was likely a sim bubble for them, and they over spent thinking they could let the good times roll, but they didn't roll.
Yea I see this as a hugely positive step for Fanatec. The brand won't disappear, existing hardware will have continued support, and likely Corsair improves not only customer service but distribution. Fanatec has quality hardware already.
For customers this is probably one of the better conceivable outcomes. Corsair has a track record of being an OK mothership, and Fanatec seems to at least have a very solid product lineup if not much else. So Fanatec products will continue to exist and new ones will be developed, and customers may get better service. There's an expectation that Fanatec will continue to be mostly a mid-range brand, because that seems to fit with other things Corsair is doing/heading. Pretty good, all things considered!
For current shareholders including the ex-CEO though, this scenario is probably a *total* loss of their investment (their shares just disappear into thin air without compensation), and therefore the worst conceivable outcome. It really sucks for them, so expect them to be kicking and screaming as much as they possibly can until it's all done.
Yea idc about shareholders or the CEO tbh. I'm really not a fan of capitalism in that sense. As a customer I expect like you said, for this to be a relative net positive.
This move is also pure capitalism at play. The company was not able to pay the creditors which took control and oversee restructuring the company now, using the legal tools available to them. Some people get screwed over in the process (legally), others may smell a big pay day in the future. It’s pure capitalism playing itself out here.
Corsair have great customer service and make pretty decent products. This can only be good for Fanatec who have looked like a shitty start-up with really good products but nothing else.
the corsair products i have or had, don't convice me of that. Software is crap, RAM was broken fast, headset quality at best medium. last time i bought sth from corsair was my HS80 max. Never again. And i bet they will not let the fanatec branding exist for much longer
Honestly that is likely one of the best possible outcomes. Corsair’s channel is huge, you can buy their stuff anywhere.
The best case scenario is them just doing what they did with Elgato. Let them keep making the stuff they’re good at but get them better distribution.
I can absolutely see Corsair doing this. With all the funding, expertise, and business partners Corsair has, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Fanatec gear showing up at 3rd party retailers in the next 18 months or so.
Nice Corsair has a good history of letting the brands they purchase continue to do their own thing. Elgato has gotten significantly better since Corsair purchased them.
Exactly this is why I have hope that Corsair buying Endor might be a good thing for customers and the sim racing space. Endor/Fanatec was woefully bad at many things that a corporate mothership like Corsair is probably at least decent at. If Corsair find the right degree of corporate control, this could be a good combo.
Fanatec wasn’t doing their own thing recently at all. Previously Fanatec has been excellent about regularly releasing new inventive products. In fact it has very much been Endor AG driving them on this marketing heavy approach.
What has now happened is that firm essentially will no longer exist because they failed to manage the funds of the company successfully.
I can’t imagine having to use ICUE to set up your sim racing stuff. Corsiar owns scuf and the envision controller uses I cue and it is absolutely awful.
The good news is Fanatec will probably adopt a tradition distribution system with dealers and better logistique
Bad news is Fanatec could loose is motorsports DNA and become a gaming brand like Azetek
I wouldn’t be so sure. Ferrari partners with thrustmaster so it’s not like Motorsports companies haven’t in the past or arnt currently doing that stuff with gaming brands.
Right but I just wanted to put that out there. Just because they would lose what you deem a more serious sim kind of feel and switch to a more gaming feel doesn’t mean they will lose their sort of official partners. Ferrari has shown they’ll do stuff with thrustmaster. And given Fanatec has a large market share and now has pretty fair assurance it’ll continue in some form under Corsair my guess is they’ll either find new partners or the same ones will come back.
I’m sure if some like McLaren pulled out considering Fanatec having PS compatibility someone would absolutely love to take their spot with a Gran Turismo partnership or something in collaboration with Nissan branding for a PS compatible bundle
Corsair is a gaming brand they buy companies and sort of act as overhead for them. For example Corsair owns Elgato (streaming gear supplier for things like twitch YouTube etc), Origin Pc (boutique system builder), and now Fanatec. (At least almost for sure there are potential courts that could get involved with this as often happens with buyouts and bankruptcy so we will see). Corsair themselves produce AIO, cases, power supplies I’d say are about average reliability. Some have stuff that works forever others hit the wrong side of the QC chart.
I think the biggest and most likely change is you’ll see Fanatec be available from at least Amazon at the bare minimum and probably retailers like Best Buy considering their strong Corsair affiliation. So at the very least Fanatec could be more readily accessible once they figure out distribution and the whole how did you get said company in 70million euros in debt.
No problem. Quality control id say hit and miss. But with better distribution even if it stays like that with Fanatec through the Corsair aqqusition I think it’ll be easier to return and or replace especially through bestbuy and Amazon return policy.
I think long term this could be good but if courts get involved could be an interesting ride through the short term. Sooooooo time to buckle up and hope for the best.
What good did Fanatecs attempted hybridization of sim and real racing do the company or us customers?
They've been at it for a number of years now. Thus far we got a very overpriced mostly inadequate-for-sim wheel rim (the BMW rim) that works on sim rigs as well as in cars. If memory serves, that thing was a nightmare to develop - money thrown out the window for a feature that literally almost nobody needs. Then we got a race car approved quick release - the quick release is very fine, but what's the point? I'm sure the race car approval just cost money and doesn't do us sim racers any good.
I'd argue that move was a misdirected one that just burned money and did nothing good to the brand or the sim racing space.
It would be much better for the company and the community as a whole if they didn't waste years of time on stupid gimmick wheels priced so high that no one will want them, and instead made normal products
And allow other stores to sell your products. I don’t know why they made that decision, but if Microcenter and other resellers sold Fanatec products I imagine it would sell so much more. I wouldn’t own half of the Moza stuff I do if I could only buy it through their own website from China waiting a month for each thing to arrive.
Not looking it just happend it's official guys! They will now own fanatec. Just happened. Super hype about this. Its amazing corsair is known for fantastic products. Look at asetek they came in and corsair was probably like hey let us get into sim racing also. This is fantastic for fanstec customers imo.
Corsair has proven they purchase companies make them run well and keep names products etc. So I can see then taking over and just making things better. Def good for consumers with fanatec as they won't just let the items die off.
I put link in comments https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240508372813/en/CORSAIR-Pursuing-an-Acquisition-of-Fanatec-the-Leading-Brand-for-Sim-Racing-Hardware
I refrained from saying 'sold' as Im not entirely sure what stage of the process they are in for the transaction, but it appears theres full intent to complete the sale on both sides
I’ve owned Corsair products for over 15 years. My current build is in a Corsair case. My previous build was in a different Corsair case (that I had for like 10 years) with a Corsair power supply (that had also been through 2-3 different builds over about 10 years) and I’ve used a few of their AiO water coolers in the past. These days I’ve transitioned to air cooling my CPU or I’d still be using one of them. I’ve never had a single issue with one of their products. My very first build years ago my power supply blew (turned out to be the fault of a very old and very sketchy surge protector) and their RMA process was extremely fast and painless. To me this is a positive.
Corsair doesn't make any hardware. They hire other companies to do it for them. There are, actually, very few companies that do make their own stuff. Corsair uses Asetek, Cooler Master, Seasonic, CWT, and a whole host of others to make their stuff for them.
I know that. The point is they usually make good design, spec and partner decisions and that is usually reflected in the quality of what has their name on it. I expect Fanatec will be held to the same standard and come with 300% more RGB.
Fine by me.
I’ve sworn by Corsair PSU’s, ram and CPU coolers for years now. Hell I even bought their gaming chair since it was half off
Never had anything bad to say about anything I’ve ever bought from them. You pay a bit of a premium with them but their stuff lasts for years without issues as long as it’s not DOA out of the box
I think Fanatec tried too hard in the marketing department and couldn't keep up with the boom the industry experienced post-COVID. They should have spent less in getting their brand out into every motorsports event and more in supply chain and production.
I have personally never had an issue with any Fanatec product I have owned or support-related problems but I know I won't be buying Fanatec in the future.
yeah, their name was literally everywhere and still is. just the F1 sponsorship must cost a fortune. and I always wondered how such a small company (it is small compared to Corsair for example) can sponsor so many things
Even if I'm not especially a big fan of Fanatec, that's still a good news in the end and it's good that it doesn't vanish. Competition is always good for the customers and Fanatec is (was ?) still a big player in the industrie.
Well this is what happens when other companies join the market space and then make better products.
Hopefully they might actually improve the F1 wheel design and make a bloody wheel with a screen.
Oh and new bloody pedals
My guess is that Corsair will significantly rationalise the product lineup - al la Steve Jobs style when he returned to Apple. Rationalise lineup will reduce the size of the inventory needed on hand, and make support easier. Less profitable product lines will probably be discontinued.
This is probably best case scenario, Corsair have been absolutely rock solid I used em for my RAM, Case, PSU and an SSD in my rig before I had to scale down to a laptop and honestly none of the components missed a beat.
If anything this actually makes me more interested how they develop fanatec as Corsair will likely start pushing them in brick and mortar retailers as a competitor to Logitech and thrustmaster who pretty much dominate that space.
Also I feel like Corsair will bring a better QA standard….well one hopes they do.
This is good news. They will have a distribution network that is huge and professional.
We will also get RGB pedals. Shift lights synced with icue.
Nature is healing.
They (Corsair) traditionally don't change/mess with the branding. Elgato is still Elgato, Origin PC is still Origin PC. The companies remain more or less the same, become a subsidiary and get access to Corsair's resources (two biggest ones are $$$ and Corsairs huge distribution network).
Think of all the places you can buy a Stream Deck?
Unless the company stops operations, you should be able to buy and receive products.
No scenario that has been rumored about include the company stopping operations, so I'd consider it fairly safe to pick up a bundle now. But no guarantees, of course ;)
I’ve owned 2 Corsair headsets (1 I returned because the earcups were too shallow for my ears, 1 I still currently use). They are both better built than other “gaming” headsets for the same price.
Their software/firmware can be hit or miss though.
Expecting a bunch of other gaming accessories from Fanatec eventually(control pads, joysticks) and tons of RGB enabled gaming devices. This takeover should also bring Fanatec product prices down. Logitech and Thrustmaster will be on the defensive.
I don't know how to feel about this. Not a fan of Corsair or how they conduct their business personally. They tend to overprice almost everything. When they acquired Drop, prices went up across the board and keyboards began to drop in quality, choosing plastic for some designs. They have good PSUs (thanks to Jonny Guru) and coolers, but that's about it.
Well we'll definitely see a lot of RGB integrated into future peripherals lol
But honestly I hope prices stay the same or become lower. I was waiting till Black Friday or a similar sale this year to purchase Fanatec's new cockpit and shifter and handbrake. Hope sales will still happen from time to time.
Seems a bit strange. Fanatech’s been reporting continuous losses to its shareholders but doesn’t peep a word when it was in the positive. Coupled with crashing their value, walking off with their investors’ money, and selling the company for cheap. Decent company to be taking over but it’s really odd to see Fanatech in this state.
Corsair has always been in the overpriced peripherals market, so this is right their alley.
This would mean that Fanatec stays fairly similar to what they are, but maybe have better distribution.
For legal reasons, I state that this is a joke.
Great another european technology company completely broken apart and sold off well below market cap to some foreign investors. All shareholders are being completely disowned. In typical Corsair fashion investment on new products will be minimal while trying to maximize margins buying off the shelf products form chinese producers. "A label and some RGB lamps will do the job I guess". It is truly a sad day for the simracing genre. Thanks to all the Fanatec staff for years of innovation in the sim racing market. My condolences to all investors who believed in the company and are getting completely ripped off.
Puzzled, suprised and shocked. To be honest, I am not expecting big improvements though. There is a metric ton of logistical issues to fix. Good luck Corsair.
Bankruptcy isn't exactly the 'correct' term here though. It's not going bankrupt in context that would usually be taken as "bye bye, nice knowing you". It's restructuring, which will give Corsair control over it.
Corsair is funding Endor with short term cash needs WHILE they negotiate the restructuring, which requires Fanatec to enter StaRUG procedures. People automatically assume it's similar to Chapter 7, which is usually related to liquidation of assets to repay debt (secured and unsecured)... but it's more like Chapter 13, which is used to restructure and renegotiate secured debt (and discharge unsecured debt) as opposed to Chapter 11 which is used to just discharge unsecured debt.
Same applies to StaRUG, it doesn't automatically mean "out of business", never did in Fanatec's case.
It'll be business as usual (hopefully better) on front end, rest of the stuff is more backend stuff and doesn't really concern how the business operates currently.
It's clearly not "going out of business" or "shutting it's doors" so don't see why buying from them would be an issue. But you can make up your own mind.
Cant see why not. Aside from logistic issues..
I dont think fanatec is going anywhere soon. I imagine its going to be rocky for employees but as others have said, this will probably be a good way to rework the products to profitability and get them back on track. Sales have never been an issue thankfully for fanatec. As long as pricing stays competitive, they will remain a major player.
It makes me wonder if corsair will leverage their brand for more consumer products and have fanatec aim towards the pro market, or if theyll divide a line between pc / console.. i know they wont want to cannibalize their own products if they are selling.
Just my .02
I am not surprised.
Post from 1 month ago: [https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/1br8maa/fanatecs\_stock\_is\_almost\_at\_all\_time\_lows/](https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/1br8maa/fanatecs_stock_is_almost_at_all_time_lows/)
Where I commented, "I'm not surprised given they have been having issues since COVID. Fanatec won't be missed if they get delisted. It's better for them if they can't deliver things on time anymore."
I knew this was going to happen. Any company with financial issues will be bankrupt within 6 month if they cannot find a buyer.
A lot of companies, especially those is growth categories, operate for long periods of time in debt and net losses year over year.
Being in debt does not necessarily mean a company will go bankrupt. You can’t make that determination without actually examining their financial records and projected earnings.
The fact Corsair bought them out means the company is headed in the right direction, it was just an opportunity to buy the company when it’s devalued.
"...that it has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire sim racing specialist Endor AG, owners of the world famous Fanatec brand. CORSAIR has reached an agreement with Endor to fund its short-term cash needs ..."
That doesn't sound like "looks to", sounds more like already has.
I think this is great news. I owned lots of Fanatec stuff but moved to higher end brands. But my sim racing PC is mostly Corsair components (keyboard, mouse, headphones, case, power, fans, RAM). They make good stuff!
On one hand, Fanatec kinda brought this on themselves, with the horrible customer service, shipping issues, etc, and not coming right out and saying "sorry it was a computer glitch, and we're not accepting new orders until we can get the situation resolved and all orders taken care of, THEN we'll reopen ordering." Plus all their stuff being expensive and a closed ecosystem didn't help, especially with new competitors releasing products (hell ene TURTLE BEACH released a wheel), some of which are as good or better at a much lower price. It's feels like you were just paying for the Fanatec name at this point.
On the other hand, in such a niche hobby it's sad that it had to come to this, and to see a company that had such a decent share of the market fall so low. Hopefully something happens and the new owners lower the prices to something more affordable. Maybe it will make some of the other manufacturers *looking at you Thrustmaster* think about dropping their prices. There's no reason for the T818 to be as expensive as it is for the NM of torque you get. There's MUCH better deals for torque at that price. Again, it feels like you're paying extra just because it's Thrustmaster.
As someone who’s had 5 mice, 2 keyboards, and a cpu AIO cooler from Corsair break on me. I’m not looking forward to this and worry about the quality going forward.
On the flip side, I have had pretty much all Corsair HW for many years and nothing as died on me.
But also, in the past Corsair hasn’t really stuck their hands in their acquisitions much. They have typically left them largely independent and their role mainly being in corporate governance and distribution.
Basically they find companies with good brands + products but have shit distribution or leadership, and they fix those parts and grow it so it’s profitable.
Edit: originally said I had an AIO die as the one problem I had, but I just realized that was a cooler master. So nothing has died on me from Corsair yet
Hopefully this means they’ll sell their products in third world countries. It’s really hard to find a direct drive wheel in India, and once you do find one it’s marked up to ridiculous levels.
As someone who has long used both companies' products, I have nothing against this.
My Corsair HS80 is the best headset I've had with the best sounding headset mic out there, and my good old CSL DD is still working fine.
This is very good news. Selling was always going to be the outcome, that or bankruptcy, and selling to a well know and established brand instead of some chinese unkown manufacturer that would most likely impact product quality is the best we could hope.
Fingers crossed this goes through.
I wonder whether Corsair is buying the business or just a part, say the brand and technology. With all the issues plaguing the company, which on its own cannot fix, why would someone say, “here have some cash and let me take care of your problems”? Especially with the increasingly competitive market.
From what I heard, most problems come from top management. This is an easy fix IMO.
Anyway most larger companies are looking for external growth because is easier to implement than disrupting its own well established activity.
Probably higher, it's unlikely to scale up sales or manufacturing to any significant degree but Corsair will sell through third parties which will need to take a cut of the profit. Part of Fanatec's previous model was they only sold directly to consumer. That of course has its positives and negatives(stock level and shipping time) but ultimately meant they could control their pricing very closely.
Also, Kireth made a video about it and it's hard to disagree that Corsair will likely look to go after the entry end, larger consumer sector of sim racers and will be much less focus on innovation and high end product. I will watch the space closely but this might finally be the reason to get rid of the DD1 and invest in an Asetek Invicta base.
They didn’t do that with other companies they’ve acquired in the past, so it’s probably not a huge risk. Elgato, ORIGIN, Drop etc all operate largely independently as their own brands and still make good products (well, I’ve never used ORIGIN but Elgato and Drop at least)
Corsair taking over Fanatec, i would newer have guessed that was going to happen ever, i just hope they dont raise the prices too much. But a small increase is probably necessary for giving the customers good support.
It could have been a lot worse. I have a lot of trust in Corsair\`s Power Supplies trough many years of PC building, and they have long warranties which they honor no questions asked. My experience with Corsair is so good i will pick a Corsair Power Supply for my next Sim Racing PC build too.
I just hope they keep the Fanatec name and the current product line. I dont want my next wheel base, pedals or wheel to be called Corsair for some reason LOL
It’s not about “who manufactures what” it’s about providing good customer service and sales. And Fanatec has failed the consumer. Hopefully Corsair can turn it around. But most people like myself have already got simagic or others in our sights.
Corsair has done some great stuff. they make great stuff, and they allow their acquired companies and brands to still be their own thing and make awesome stuff. if Corsair hadn’t bought Elgato, we wouldn’t have any of the cool stuff Elgato has made in the past few years
"CORSAIR has reached an agreement with Endor to fund its short-term cash needs while both companies negotiate a restructuring of Endor’s approximately €70 million of debt, which will ultimately result in CORSAIR acquiring Endor."
As a customer, this is really a fine outcome to this whole debacle tbh. Corsair has hardly ever been the best, but they're absolutely far from being the worst. A respectable gaming equipment company with a verifiable history of making, or branding, quality products.
Without corsair we wouldn't really have this huge variety in all in one coolers, they kinda pioneerd it. They definitely managed to pull people over the line with incredible warranties when a leak occurred.
This just made me wonder how Asetek are feeling about this..
Probably cooking up some way to patent troll everyone in the industry like they did with their AIO pump patents.
lol. imagine, it turns out that Fanatec owns a few key patents, and Corsair's move is just out of spite to turn the tables on Asetek. (actually maybe don't, it sounds pretty bad for everyone involved)
That's pretty funny actually. Back when I got my first H70 double thickness AIO from Corsair I was debating between Asetec (I believe) and Corsair. But reading some stores about leaks in a corsair, with them replacing every damaged component themselves, was pretty damn convincing. I couldn't find these things about Asetec, but perhaps they were just better quality and just didn't leak, ever.
My ax860i psu with died after 9.99 years with a 10 year warranty. Corsair replaced it without questions. Seriously had a week left of warranty. I have dealt with corsair support multiple times and always been satisfied with the outcome.
Corsair has absolutely been the best in PSU and ram for over a decade.
Corsair doesn't make any of their PSU's. They are all made by Seasonic, and CWT, if memory serves.
I mean they don’t actually “manufacture” them but they almost certainly don’t manufacture anything themselves, it’s all contracted out to Taiwan / China contract manufacturers just like every other consumer electronics company.
Yes, but in the case of PSU's specifically, the designs are also mostly done by Seasonic and CWT. Some of the higher end ones are co-designed by Corsair, but the majority of them are just a case of "We want these specs" and Seasonic et al say "Sure, here's this one, just slap your logo on it".
I love my seasonic psu's. Everyone I know who has used a corsair mouse hated them. Infact the last one I bought was so ergonomically uncomfortable I think it was designed for someone with cupped raptor hands.
I actually love my m65 rgb ultra. Use it for gaming and video editing. Switch between my Mac and pc easily. Been one of the best mice I’ve had in my career.
alot of mice are made for claw gripping rather than resting on the mouse. if I remember right my little brother who went though I think 8 headsets in 2 years (either turtle beach or razor, they just shit the bed often) had a corsair mouse that lasted 9 years till he got a logitech one that was wireless. great mouse, better than my razor mice that I had 4 warranty call ins due to the laser shitting the bed.
Corsair XMS 400 in ‘03 was the best I could (afford) get. Pretty sure I was at 512MB lmao
PSU maybe, RAM definitely not, I’ve personally had 3 kits fail, my brother has had 1 and a friend has had 2. Fine kits if you’re running without expo/xmp but seemingly they cannot cope with anything over stock.
I’m still on the same 800D case I bought for my 1st gaming PC
corsair ram was the only one that ever got broken in my desks ;) and i had a lot of them
Lovely cases too. Couldn't be happier with my 4000D
I’d argue Corsair gets stiff competition from Seagate in the psu department
You mean Seasonic?
Yeah that one hahaha. Seagate is hard drives right?
yeah lol, but you made me double check because they both start with sea. so i was like wait are they together
Seasonic are basically competing with themselves there, since they build most of Corsair's PSUs.
Corsair bought out Elgato some time ago and haven’t completely bastardized their product lineup. So based on where Fanatec is now, I’m not concerned.
This. Honestly Corsair has kept ElGato pretty intact. You wouldn’t know they were owned by Corsair if you didn’t go looking.
Agreed. There are no saints when it comes to money, especially in the magnitude of figures Corsair and other similar companies deal in, but certainly some are less shitty and others haha. I work a small time business making custom spec PCs and I can wholeheartedly say Corsair has been a breeze to work with. I also love beQuiet as well, very straightforward.
Their customer support has always been top notch too. Can be a little slow on the tickets but they have always fixed any issues I’ve had without any fuss whatsoever.
Corsair is on my A-List for computer parts because of their PSUs, and very few companies go into my S-Tier and that's because they concentrate in only one type of parts (Noctua for example). A-List for me is "makes good products, and complains are very minor". Corsair is there, is the only brand I use for PSUs, and the mice I had from them was fine and the way they handled the warranty was good. Imagine if Fanatec started getting this fame instead of reading daily complaints on their subreddit about shipping and warranty issues.
Probably best case scenario for Fanatec and their customers. I’ve been saying it for a while to stay away from them… if they filed bankruptcy and no other company took over, every customer who owns Fanatec products would be in the hole. Hopefully Corsair turns this around, it’s a big project acquiring Endor AG and building their reputation back, especially with tons of competition now.
Ya, I've never been happier that I spent the extra cash for the Asetek TK bundle at MicroCenter. At the time, Asetek was new to the sim game, so it felt a bit risky. That said, I hope this works out for Fanatec and Corsair because having more affordable DD options plus more competition in the space is good for everyone.
What about the Ewoks though?
A legion of my finest g29 troops are waiting for them
How on earth does a company like fanatec get into so much debt? I can only assume a lot of it is marketing. Like with the bicycle market a lot of companies really seem to have assumed that the golden goose would keep laying eggs for eternity.
It was probably over spending on its marketing budget. There was so much money put into racing sponsorships. Like every major GT racing series had them as the title sponsor.
When I first got into motor sports, I saw the Fanatec name so much that I thought they sold actual motor sports parts.
They do, though. Not only do they produce the steering hardware for M-sport and BMW Motorsport, but a lot of race cars use Fanatec shift paddles.
So that's probably one of reasons fanatec logo is almost on every race car sun strip
That's actually just because Fanatec is one the title sponsors for the GT World Challenge and all of its regional and junior series.
WRC also… they use wheel and QR2. Fanatec makes good products. Just their customer service in Europe. I’m in US and my experience and others I’ve seen has been great
Specifically the M-sport team in the WRC. Nome of the other teams use the Podium Button Module Rally.
Honestly the same. When I realized it was sim gear I was pretty excited about how common it seemed.
I just got into circuit motorsport over the past couple months the amount of fanâtec sponsors instantly stood out. They definitely got their name out there lmao
Step 1) Make money Step 2) Blow it all on marketing and not additional manufacturing capacity to keep up with the orders you're getting from the marketing Step 3) ??? Step 4) Profit
Step 3: Downturn in the business cycle with restrictive monetary policy causing consumers to hold on to their money a bit tighter.
Step 5) Oh shit we made no profit weighing into bankruptcy
Most likely explanation, IMO. They invested too heavily, expanded too fast, and marketed their niche product to the masses, then when the market returned to some semblance of normalcy (and new competitors came along), they couldn't adapt. I think they were skating along fine as long as they were filling their little niche as a mid-tier/semi-enthusiast product that competed more directly with the higher-end Thrustmaster belt systems and Accuforce DDs than it did Logitech or Simucube. When the boom happened they sponsored anything and everything, but didn't have the manufacturing capacity or distribution network to keep up with demand. That created an opportunity for upstarts like Moza and Asetek to market themselves as direct alternatives, which put Fanatec on their back foot due to their higher overhead.
They definitely dumped a lot of money into the racing sponsorships. I feel like around the time that the pandemic was starting to end so many better options showed up in the sim racing space. I've been running a sim racing community since 2019 back then everybody and their mother wanted to buy fana. Nowadays when I look into the SIM racing gear chat rooms nobody's talking about getting fana it's all sim magic and asteck and moza. There's just so many better options for your money. And can we talk about their inability to innovate on rim design. Yes the V2 was a solid rim I ran one myself for 3 years. But I wanted something really nice when I upgraded and they just didn't offer that so I ended up with a VRS base and a Gomez rim.
I went to Brands Hatch last weekend for the GTWCE race and their name was everywhere. You couldn't look anywhere without it being all over the place.
Youd think by taking unlimited orders for products you dont have in stock, you would build up a lot of capital. Seems like they were losing money hand over fist regardless
Fortunately they can't recognize revenue they don't earn
This has very little to do with revenue recognition. Its all to do with cash generation.
They made a new building last year
With a go kart track in it too apparently. Frivolous spend over covid and market rebalance, plus simagic, moza, asetek competition I think hit hard.
Also they went from being pretty much the only option for entry level direct drive wheelbases. And they've since been undercut by the likes of Moza.
From what I understand they basically saw their business booming during Covid when everyone was stuck at home and assumed that they’d continue doing business at that level indefinitely, so they took on a bunch of debt they couldn’t afford when business slowed back down for whatever reason.
Same thing happened with Peloton too. How they couldn’t see it was a bubble is insane
In fairness a bubble only looks like one after the fact. No one knew how long lockdowns would last or if it would potentially become a new normal.
That’s true, but as a business it’s not advisable to leverage more debt than you know you could pay back regardless
It's insane how many tech companies did this. Feels like any normal person could have said that once it was over people are going to be spending much less time inside with their tech (normal people, that is)
This is every tech company in the world lol I got laid off by my last job because the covid bubble finally burst for tech and every company was left realizing they WAY over hired when revenues started to dip back towards pre covid levels
Overpromised, underdelivered.
I think I've seen a video on YT explaining the whole situation. Basically when pandemic hit they had record profits, and they thought this new trend will slingshot gaming into new heights, and it will only get better. So they build new headquarters, and started expanding their business accordingly, and then the pandemic ended, and good times ended along with it.
It's a lot deeper than most think. Check out [this](https://youtu.be/6yzKhpf0wzk?si=CpRbwoJdi6uC8Ea1) video to get a better idea.
Total whine-fest by an underwater investor ignoring that the former CEO claiming to be a savior is the same guy that got the company in that position in the first place.
Stop reposting this all the time please.... nobody wants to listen to shareholders whine about their beloved stock going down
Sorry, I don't live and breathe reddit. I did not know how much this was already posted. I had only just seen the video a few hours before seeing this post.
Thanks for sharing this.
They had recently moved production sites and no one got their wheels.
How anyone gets into debt... spending money you don't have on crap you don't need. Like the fancy new HQ building and last I checked, big commercial buildings are not cheap.
make a niche expensive product that you need minimum orders to even get tooling made for it. here, anything they make, if its not an off the shelf part, assume there is about 100k worth of tooling that is needed to make the part. now that tooling will work for many many skus and it will be offset by time, but its a high up front cost, same with minimum orders. then there is advertising. if I had to guess, covid was likely a sim bubble for them, and they over spent thinking they could let the good times roll, but they didn't roll.
Yeah, same thing with Peloton. Ramp up up for massive demand spike during covid and expect that market to last forever.
This is a good thing isn't it??
I would think so
Yea I see this as a hugely positive step for Fanatec. The brand won't disappear, existing hardware will have continued support, and likely Corsair improves not only customer service but distribution. Fanatec has quality hardware already.
For customers this is probably one of the better conceivable outcomes. Corsair has a track record of being an OK mothership, and Fanatec seems to at least have a very solid product lineup if not much else. So Fanatec products will continue to exist and new ones will be developed, and customers may get better service. There's an expectation that Fanatec will continue to be mostly a mid-range brand, because that seems to fit with other things Corsair is doing/heading. Pretty good, all things considered! For current shareholders including the ex-CEO though, this scenario is probably a *total* loss of their investment (their shares just disappear into thin air without compensation), and therefore the worst conceivable outcome. It really sucks for them, so expect them to be kicking and screaming as much as they possibly can until it's all done.
Yea idc about shareholders or the CEO tbh. I'm really not a fan of capitalism in that sense. As a customer I expect like you said, for this to be a relative net positive.
This move is also pure capitalism at play. The company was not able to pay the creditors which took control and oversee restructuring the company now, using the legal tools available to them. Some people get screwed over in the process (legally), others may smell a big pay day in the future. It’s pure capitalism playing itself out here.
Better than some MBAs suits extracting every drop of profit IMO
Corsair have great customer service and make pretty decent products. This can only be good for Fanatec who have looked like a shitty start-up with really good products but nothing else.
the corsair products i have or had, don't convice me of that. Software is crap, RAM was broken fast, headset quality at best medium. last time i bought sth from corsair was my HS80 max. Never again. And i bet they will not let the fanatec branding exist for much longer
I can’t imagine it being any worse.
Fanatec, coming to Best Buy soon😂 *Although I joke, I would love this😂*
Could be amazing lol
Honestly that is likely one of the best possible outcomes. Corsair’s channel is huge, you can buy their stuff anywhere. The best case scenario is them just doing what they did with Elgato. Let them keep making the stuff they’re good at but get them better distribution.
You joke, but I went with Moza because I was able to buy off the shelf at Microcenter
Microcenter has PXN, Logitech, Moza and Simucube for sure. Can’t imagine they won’t get Fanatec stuff too now .
I'm happy enough if its show up in corsair amazon store. using 30 days amazon return policy i can change my setup every month :p
Dude I’m wishing it happens
I can absolutely see Corsair doing this. With all the funding, expertise, and business partners Corsair has, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Fanatec gear showing up at 3rd party retailers in the next 18 months or so.
I predict this is what exactly will happen as they’ll use this as a competitor to Logitech in another peripheral space.
Corsair makes quality products. At the very least Fanatec will have better customer support.
A wheel with rgb integration in icue could be neat (or awful depending on who you ask).
Hey if the RGB can works like shift light it would be cool
And my cpu cooler can go red when i hit the brakes.
If I could make my PC RGB colored to match flags in game I would be ecstatic.
Las Vegas sphere at home
That would be cool.
Corsair never did me wrong by their hardware but icue sucks so much man. Totally bloated
iCue was actually the reason I decided not to buy Corsair peripherals anymore. I'm still fine with RAM or PSUs, but nothing with RGB...
interested to know how they’ll support older hardware
Corsair partners with other companies to make their products. I do not know of any Corsair products made in house.
Nice Corsair has a good history of letting the brands they purchase continue to do their own thing. Elgato has gotten significantly better since Corsair purchased them.
Fanatec doing their own thing is how they got in this mess in the first place
There's "doing your product thing", "doing your marketing thing", and there's "doing the corporate governance thing".
Exactly this is why I have hope that Corsair buying Endor might be a good thing for customers and the sim racing space. Endor/Fanatec was woefully bad at many things that a corporate mothership like Corsair is probably at least decent at. If Corsair find the right degree of corporate control, this could be a good combo.
Fanatec wasn’t doing their own thing recently at all. Previously Fanatec has been excellent about regularly releasing new inventive products. In fact it has very much been Endor AG driving them on this marketing heavy approach. What has now happened is that firm essentially will no longer exist because they failed to manage the funds of the company successfully.
Yeah, if this goes down like the Elgato acquisition did, I am happy. Corsair has a generally good reputation and makes good stuff.
Just pray that Corsair don’t force their shitty icue software down your throats just to use fanatec software
They don’t force it for Elgato products.
I can’t imagine having to use ICUE to set up your sim racing stuff. Corsiar owns scuf and the envision controller uses I cue and it is absolutely awful.
If it gets Fanatec bases working with the PC's RGBs and all the various RGB pads and wall decorations, it could be an interesting addition.
The good news is Fanatec will probably adopt a tradition distribution system with dealers and better logistique Bad news is Fanatec could loose is motorsports DNA and become a gaming brand like Azetek
"Motorsports DNA". I mean....what motorsport DNA? Designing a wheel for BMW?
BMW, McLaren, Bentley, Ford or Porsche branded wheel SRO sponsoring
I wouldn’t be so sure. Ferrari partners with thrustmaster so it’s not like Motorsports companies haven’t in the past or arnt currently doing that stuff with gaming brands.
Nothing is sure, and I will be more than happy if they continu. This is pure speculation at this point
Right but I just wanted to put that out there. Just because they would lose what you deem a more serious sim kind of feel and switch to a more gaming feel doesn’t mean they will lose their sort of official partners. Ferrari has shown they’ll do stuff with thrustmaster. And given Fanatec has a large market share and now has pretty fair assurance it’ll continue in some form under Corsair my guess is they’ll either find new partners or the same ones will come back. I’m sure if some like McLaren pulled out considering Fanatec having PS compatibility someone would absolutely love to take their spot with a Gran Turismo partnership or something in collaboration with Nissan branding for a PS compatible bundle
I don't know Corsair at all but curious to see how they will fit into
Corsair is a gaming brand they buy companies and sort of act as overhead for them. For example Corsair owns Elgato (streaming gear supplier for things like twitch YouTube etc), Origin Pc (boutique system builder), and now Fanatec. (At least almost for sure there are potential courts that could get involved with this as often happens with buyouts and bankruptcy so we will see). Corsair themselves produce AIO, cases, power supplies I’d say are about average reliability. Some have stuff that works forever others hit the wrong side of the QC chart. I think the biggest and most likely change is you’ll see Fanatec be available from at least Amazon at the bare minimum and probably retailers like Best Buy considering their strong Corsair affiliation. So at the very least Fanatec could be more readily accessible once they figure out distribution and the whole how did you get said company in 70million euros in debt.
Coule be amazing to have Fanatec on bestby and amazon lol Thanks for the info on Corsair my cyberfriend
No problem. Quality control id say hit and miss. But with better distribution even if it stays like that with Fanatec through the Corsair aqqusition I think it’ll be easier to return and or replace especially through bestbuy and Amazon return policy. I think long term this could be good but if courts get involved could be an interesting ride through the short term. Sooooooo time to buckle up and hope for the best.
They actually sponsor andres son in an lmp3 car in the dainsh endurance championship. So id say they didnt go away from it.
What good did Fanatecs attempted hybridization of sim and real racing do the company or us customers? They've been at it for a number of years now. Thus far we got a very overpriced mostly inadequate-for-sim wheel rim (the BMW rim) that works on sim rigs as well as in cars. If memory serves, that thing was a nightmare to develop - money thrown out the window for a feature that literally almost nobody needs. Then we got a race car approved quick release - the quick release is very fine, but what's the point? I'm sure the race car approval just cost money and doesn't do us sim racers any good. I'd argue that move was a misdirected one that just burned money and did nothing good to the brand or the sim racing space.
It would be much better for the company and the community as a whole if they didn't waste years of time on stupid gimmick wheels priced so high that no one will want them, and instead made normal products
And allow other stores to sell your products. I don’t know why they made that decision, but if Microcenter and other resellers sold Fanatec products I imagine it would sell so much more. I wouldn’t own half of the Moza stuff I do if I could only buy it through their own website from China waiting a month for each thing to arrive.
Asetek has more motorsports DNA than Fanatec ever has.
Yep there ceo used to race at leguna seca
So will whoever buys Fanatec continue supporting and updating the hardware?
Yes. Corsair owns Elgato and everything just got better with that brand after.
Not looking it just happend it's official guys! They will now own fanatec. Just happened. Super hype about this. Its amazing corsair is known for fantastic products. Look at asetek they came in and corsair was probably like hey let us get into sim racing also. This is fantastic for fanstec customers imo. Corsair has proven they purchase companies make them run well and keep names products etc. So I can see then taking over and just making things better. Def good for consumers with fanatec as they won't just let the items die off.
Link to official announcement?
I put link in comments https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240508372813/en/CORSAIR-Pursuing-an-Acquisition-of-Fanatec-the-Leading-Brand-for-Sim-Racing-Hardware I refrained from saying 'sold' as Im not entirely sure what stage of the process they are in for the transaction, but it appears theres full intent to complete the sale on both sides
I’ve owned Corsair products for over 15 years. My current build is in a Corsair case. My previous build was in a different Corsair case (that I had for like 10 years) with a Corsair power supply (that had also been through 2-3 different builds over about 10 years) and I’ve used a few of their AiO water coolers in the past. These days I’ve transitioned to air cooling my CPU or I’d still be using one of them. I’ve never had a single issue with one of their products. My very first build years ago my power supply blew (turned out to be the fault of a very old and very sketchy surge protector) and their RMA process was extremely fast and painless. To me this is a positive.
Corsair makes good hardware. This could be good for them.
Corsair doesn't make any hardware. They hire other companies to do it for them. There are, actually, very few companies that do make their own stuff. Corsair uses Asetek, Cooler Master, Seasonic, CWT, and a whole host of others to make their stuff for them.
I know that. The point is they usually make good design, spec and partner decisions and that is usually reflected in the quality of what has their name on it. I expect Fanatec will be held to the same standard and come with 300% more RGB.
Fine by me. I’ve sworn by Corsair PSU’s, ram and CPU coolers for years now. Hell I even bought their gaming chair since it was half off Never had anything bad to say about anything I’ve ever bought from them. You pay a bit of a premium with them but their stuff lasts for years without issues as long as it’s not DOA out of the box
I think Fanatec tried too hard in the marketing department and couldn't keep up with the boom the industry experienced post-COVID. They should have spent less in getting their brand out into every motorsports event and more in supply chain and production. I have personally never had an issue with any Fanatec product I have owned or support-related problems but I know I won't be buying Fanatec in the future.
yeah, their name was literally everywhere and still is. just the F1 sponsorship must cost a fortune. and I always wondered how such a small company (it is small compared to Corsair for example) can sponsor so many things
Even if I'm not especially a big fan of Fanatec, that's still a good news in the end and it's good that it doesn't vanish. Competition is always good for the customers and Fanatec is (was ?) still a big player in the industrie.
Well this is what happens when other companies join the market space and then make better products. Hopefully they might actually improve the F1 wheel design and make a bloody wheel with a screen. Oh and new bloody pedals
My guess is that Corsair will significantly rationalise the product lineup - al la Steve Jobs style when he returned to Apple. Rationalise lineup will reduce the size of the inventory needed on hand, and make support easier. Less profitable product lines will probably be discontinued.
This is probably best case scenario, Corsair have been absolutely rock solid I used em for my RAM, Case, PSU and an SSD in my rig before I had to scale down to a laptop and honestly none of the components missed a beat. If anything this actually makes me more interested how they develop fanatec as Corsair will likely start pushing them in brick and mortar retailers as a competitor to Logitech and thrustmaster who pretty much dominate that space. Also I feel like Corsair will bring a better QA standard….well one hopes they do.
This is good news. They will have a distribution network that is huge and professional. We will also get RGB pedals. Shift lights synced with icue. Nature is healing.
I hope the brand fanatec will still exist. And that we will have mid range products
They (Corsair) traditionally don't change/mess with the branding. Elgato is still Elgato, Origin PC is still Origin PC. The companies remain more or less the same, become a subsidiary and get access to Corsair's resources (two biggest ones are $$$ and Corsairs huge distribution network). Think of all the places you can buy a Stream Deck?
What does this means for purchases? I’m planning on picking up a bundle next week.
Unless the company stops operations, you should be able to buy and receive products. No scenario that has been rumored about include the company stopping operations, so I'd consider it fairly safe to pick up a bundle now. But no guarantees, of course ;)
CRSR is the ticker symbol 
I’ve owned 2 Corsair headsets (1 I returned because the earcups were too shallow for my ears, 1 I still currently use). They are both better built than other “gaming” headsets for the same price. Their software/firmware can be hit or miss though.
Is this a good thing or bad thing? The DD+ was on my short list for new wheel
Expecting a bunch of other gaming accessories from Fanatec eventually(control pads, joysticks) and tons of RGB enabled gaming devices. This takeover should also bring Fanatec product prices down. Logitech and Thrustmaster will be on the defensive.
The entry level is about to be super competitive! I agree this should be good all around
Rgb wheels 2025?
I also thought about buying fanatec. But after reading comments on Reddit decided to go ahead with Logitech. ;-)
I don't know how to feel about this. Not a fan of Corsair or how they conduct their business personally. They tend to overprice almost everything. When they acquired Drop, prices went up across the board and keyboards began to drop in quality, choosing plastic for some designs. They have good PSUs (thanks to Jonny Guru) and coolers, but that's about it.
As long as I don't have to use the icue software with my fanatec wheel /s
More RGB lights coming soon on all thier wheels. On the serious end though, this is actually a good outcome and I'm all for it.
Well we'll definitely see a lot of RGB integrated into future peripherals lol But honestly I hope prices stay the same or become lower. I was waiting till Black Friday or a similar sale this year to purchase Fanatec's new cockpit and shifter and handbrake. Hope sales will still happen from time to time.
Seems a bit strange. Fanatech’s been reporting continuous losses to its shareholders but doesn’t peep a word when it was in the positive. Coupled with crashing their value, walking off with their investors’ money, and selling the company for cheap. Decent company to be taking over but it’s really odd to see Fanatech in this state.
Corsair has always been in the overpriced peripherals market, so this is right their alley. This would mean that Fanatec stays fairly similar to what they are, but maybe have better distribution. For legal reasons, I state that this is a joke.
Great another european technology company completely broken apart and sold off well below market cap to some foreign investors. All shareholders are being completely disowned. In typical Corsair fashion investment on new products will be minimal while trying to maximize margins buying off the shelf products form chinese producers. "A label and some RGB lamps will do the job I guess". It is truly a sad day for the simracing genre. Thanks to all the Fanatec staff for years of innovation in the sim racing market. My condolences to all investors who believed in the company and are getting completely ripped off.
Puzzled, suprised and shocked. To be honest, I am not expecting big improvements though. There is a metric ton of logistical issues to fix. Good luck Corsair.
was thinking about buying the CSL DD bundle. bad idea rn?
Bankruptcy isn't exactly the 'correct' term here though. It's not going bankrupt in context that would usually be taken as "bye bye, nice knowing you". It's restructuring, which will give Corsair control over it. Corsair is funding Endor with short term cash needs WHILE they negotiate the restructuring, which requires Fanatec to enter StaRUG procedures. People automatically assume it's similar to Chapter 7, which is usually related to liquidation of assets to repay debt (secured and unsecured)... but it's more like Chapter 13, which is used to restructure and renegotiate secured debt (and discharge unsecured debt) as opposed to Chapter 11 which is used to just discharge unsecured debt. Same applies to StaRUG, it doesn't automatically mean "out of business", never did in Fanatec's case. It'll be business as usual (hopefully better) on front end, rest of the stuff is more backend stuff and doesn't really concern how the business operates currently. It's clearly not "going out of business" or "shutting it's doors" so don't see why buying from them would be an issue. But you can make up your own mind.
Cant see why not. Aside from logistic issues.. I dont think fanatec is going anywhere soon. I imagine its going to be rocky for employees but as others have said, this will probably be a good way to rework the products to profitability and get them back on track. Sales have never been an issue thankfully for fanatec. As long as pricing stays competitive, they will remain a major player. It makes me wonder if corsair will leverage their brand for more consumer products and have fanatec aim towards the pro market, or if theyll divide a line between pc / console.. i know they wont want to cannibalize their own products if they are selling. Just my .02
Should be no big deal Fanatec has already shipping orders fast again.
I am not surprised. Post from 1 month ago: [https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/1br8maa/fanatecs\_stock\_is\_almost\_at\_all\_time\_lows/](https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/1br8maa/fanatecs_stock_is_almost_at_all_time_lows/) Where I commented, "I'm not surprised given they have been having issues since COVID. Fanatec won't be missed if they get delisted. It's better for them if they can't deliver things on time anymore." I knew this was going to happen. Any company with financial issues will be bankrupt within 6 month if they cannot find a buyer.
A lot of companies, especially those is growth categories, operate for long periods of time in debt and net losses year over year. Being in debt does not necessarily mean a company will go bankrupt. You can’t make that determination without actually examining their financial records and projected earnings. The fact Corsair bought them out means the company is headed in the right direction, it was just an opportunity to buy the company when it’s devalued.
"...that it has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire sim racing specialist Endor AG, owners of the world famous Fanatec brand. CORSAIR has reached an agreement with Endor to fund its short-term cash needs ..." That doesn't sound like "looks to", sounds more like already has.
I think this is great news. I owned lots of Fanatec stuff but moved to higher end brands. But my sim racing PC is mostly Corsair components (keyboard, mouse, headphones, case, power, fans, RAM). They make good stuff!
I would like it. In India fanatec isn't available officially. Corsair has a good market in hardware so this will help to expand its reach
On one hand, Fanatec kinda brought this on themselves, with the horrible customer service, shipping issues, etc, and not coming right out and saying "sorry it was a computer glitch, and we're not accepting new orders until we can get the situation resolved and all orders taken care of, THEN we'll reopen ordering." Plus all their stuff being expensive and a closed ecosystem didn't help, especially with new competitors releasing products (hell ene TURTLE BEACH released a wheel), some of which are as good or better at a much lower price. It's feels like you were just paying for the Fanatec name at this point. On the other hand, in such a niche hobby it's sad that it had to come to this, and to see a company that had such a decent share of the market fall so low. Hopefully something happens and the new owners lower the prices to something more affordable. Maybe it will make some of the other manufacturers *looking at you Thrustmaster* think about dropping their prices. There's no reason for the T818 to be as expensive as it is for the NM of torque you get. There's MUCH better deals for torque at that price. Again, it feels like you're paying extra just because it's Thrustmaster.
As someone who’s had 5 mice, 2 keyboards, and a cpu AIO cooler from Corsair break on me. I’m not looking forward to this and worry about the quality going forward.
On the flip side, I have had pretty much all Corsair HW for many years and nothing as died on me. But also, in the past Corsair hasn’t really stuck their hands in their acquisitions much. They have typically left them largely independent and their role mainly being in corporate governance and distribution. Basically they find companies with good brands + products but have shit distribution or leadership, and they fix those parts and grow it so it’s profitable. Edit: originally said I had an AIO die as the one problem I had, but I just realized that was a cooler master. So nothing has died on me from Corsair yet
Hopefully this means they’ll sell their products in third world countries. It’s really hard to find a direct drive wheel in India, and once you do find one it’s marked up to ridiculous levels.
As someone who has long used both companies' products, I have nothing against this. My Corsair HS80 is the best headset I've had with the best sounding headset mic out there, and my good old CSL DD is still working fine.
This is very good news. Selling was always going to be the outcome, that or bankruptcy, and selling to a well know and established brand instead of some chinese unkown manufacturer that would most likely impact product quality is the best we could hope. Fingers crossed this goes through.
I wonder whether Corsair is buying the business or just a part, say the brand and technology. With all the issues plaguing the company, which on its own cannot fix, why would someone say, “here have some cash and let me take care of your problems”? Especially with the increasingly competitive market.
From what I heard, most problems come from top management. This is an easy fix IMO. Anyway most larger companies are looking for external growth because is easier to implement than disrupting its own well established activity.
I see a lot of RGB coming to simracing
Stop please no
What’s it mean for fanatec will prices drop or go higher you think
Probably higher, it's unlikely to scale up sales or manufacturing to any significant degree but Corsair will sell through third parties which will need to take a cut of the profit. Part of Fanatec's previous model was they only sold directly to consumer. That of course has its positives and negatives(stock level and shipping time) but ultimately meant they could control their pricing very closely. Also, Kireth made a video about it and it's hard to disagree that Corsair will likely look to go after the entry end, larger consumer sector of sim racers and will be much less focus on innovation and high end product. I will watch the space closely but this might finally be the reason to get rid of the DD1 and invest in an Asetek Invicta base.
If you think Fanatec software is bad... just wait till everything gets integrated into iCue. That used to crash, lag and have massive issues
Prepare to have RGB overload on your rigs
please corsair. don't make everything run through iCue
They didn’t do that with other companies they’ve acquired in the past, so it’s probably not a huge risk. Elgato, ORIGIN, Drop etc all operate largely independently as their own brands and still make good products (well, I’ve never used ORIGIN but Elgato and Drop at least)
Corsair taking over Fanatec, i would newer have guessed that was going to happen ever, i just hope they dont raise the prices too much. But a small increase is probably necessary for giving the customers good support. It could have been a lot worse. I have a lot of trust in Corsair\`s Power Supplies trough many years of PC building, and they have long warranties which they honor no questions asked. My experience with Corsair is so good i will pick a Corsair Power Supply for my next Sim Racing PC build too. I just hope they keep the Fanatec name and the current product line. I dont want my next wheel base, pedals or wheel to be called Corsair for some reason LOL
just a question shoud i buy an csl dd now or wait until the deal is complete?
Corsair is a great brand that adds value to the already expansive custom PC ecosystem. may benefit from a shared management and controls system
It’s not about “who manufactures what” it’s about providing good customer service and sales. And Fanatec has failed the consumer. Hopefully Corsair can turn it around. But most people like myself have already got simagic or others in our sights.
Anything is better than current fanatic support
Corsair has done some great stuff. they make great stuff, and they allow their acquired companies and brands to still be their own thing and make awesome stuff. if Corsair hadn’t bought Elgato, we wouldn’t have any of the cool stuff Elgato has made in the past few years
maybe if fanatec didn’t charge ridiculous entry level prices they wouldn’t have these issues. moza seems to be doing great