SteelSeries launches Evil Geniuses-branded peripherals

Peripherals maker SteelSeries has announced new limited-edition variants of its Arctis headset, Rival 300 mouse, Apex M500 keyboard, and Qck+ mousepad, courtesy its partnership with eSports team Evil Geniuses.

While the core of each product in the new limited-edition Evil Geniuses range is largely unchanged from SteelSeries' stock variants, the company claims each benefits from customisation resulting from their close partnership. 'For years, SteelSeries has collaborated with Evil Geniuses to test and improve our products to ensure they are tournament ready,' claimed Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries' chief executive officer, at the launch. 'Their winning culture and pursuit of excellence in eSports aligns with SteelSeries’ commitment to supporting eSport professionals with products that help them rise to the challenge.'

The range starts with a branded band add-on for the company's Arctis 3 and 5 headphones, but it's the mouse and keyboard that are likely to be of the most interest to gamers eager to emulate Evil Geniuses' success. The Rival 300 Evil Geniuses Edition includes a Pixart PMW3310 high-accuracy optical sensor, switches rated to 30 million clicks, six programmable buttons, and a matt-finish design featuring customisable RGB lighting and the Evil Geniuses logo with the caption '#BleedBlue' to the front. Those wanting to complete the set can also pick up a matching Qck+ mousemat.

The Apex M500 Evil Geniuses Edition, meanwhile, features a full-size layout with Cherry MX Red gaming switches. The keyboard and keycaps, each of which is laser etched to allow the backlighting to shine through its markings, are finished in a an Evil Geniuses' dark blue with white LED illumination, while the text variant of the team's logo is picked out at the upper-right of the board. As with its unbranded version, the Apex M500 includes a steel back plate, full-key anti-ghosting and rollover, and a built-in cable management system.

Naturally, SteelSeries has trotted out team members to wax lyrical about the designs. 'The Rival 300 is my mouse of choice,' the company has quoted Evil Geniuses member Ludwig 'zai' Wåhlberg as offering; 'The M500 is, simply put, an excellent keyboard; one of, if not the best, mechanical keyboard I’ve ever used,' added Saahil 'Universe' Arora; 'The QcK+ is large and has that bit of extra padding to make it comfortable and sturdy. It also has that consistent, perfect glide that just seems natural,' finished Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev.

The Rival 300 Evil Geniuses Edition is priced at £59.99, the Apex M500 Evil Geniuses Edition at £109.99, the Qck+ Evil Geniuses Edition at £17.50, and the branded band add-on for the Arctis 3 and Arctis 5 headsets at £11.99. More information is available on the company's official landing page.