Gaming audio and peripherals brand SteelSeries has kicked off a year-long celebration of its 20th anniversary as a company in gaming and esports.
SteelSeries hosted their inaugural online tournament, The SteelSeries Invitational, earlier this month. FaZe, Falkn, Nordavind and OG took part in the CSGO tournament, with OG taking the top spot beating FaZe in the final.
From sponsoring the first pro teams to creating products specifically for pros, SteelSeries says it’s been growing the industry and helping gamers find glory by developing its range of products.
SteelSeries was originally formed in Denmark in 2001 to meet the surface needs of hardcore gamers by introducing an anti-dust glass mousepad known as the Icemat.
At the time, company founder Jacob Wolff-Petersen was a Counter-Strike player in Copenhagen, using the standard dust-magnet mousepad that made it difficult to aim. He introduced a glass mousepad for FPS gamers.
Since that original innovation, SteelSeries says it’s created the first mechanical gaming keyboard, the first over-the-ear gaming headsets, retractable headset microphones, World of Warcraft MMO mouse and more.
The company’s original slogan was ‘Winning is everything’ and Jacob says this remains a core value of SteelSeries.
Said SteelSeries CEO Ehtisham Rabbani said: “The first 20 years of SteelSeries have been marked by innovation, countless firsts, and true collaboration with pros. Together, we’ve built a global esports scene and fueled its meteoric rise.
“The first 20 years of SteelSeries have been marked by innovation, countless firsts, and true collaboration with pros. Together, we’ve built a global esports scene and fueled its meteoric rise.”
Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries
“And we are hard at work forging the next frontier of gaming greatness with product and software innovations that will continue to be industry-defining in the years to come. At SteelSeries, we know that every gamer can feel like a star and push gaming further than anyone dreamed.”
By 2006, SteelSeries gear was used by seven of the top ten FPS esports teams in the world. Today, pros have won more money with SteelSeries than any other brand, the company claimed.
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, SteelSeries has also released six short animated films produced by their in-house creative team about the development of their technology and commitment to pushing the boundaries in gaming.
SteelSeries also held an AMA on Twitch with chief technical officer Tino Soelberg. He examined the technology of early gaming peripherals and looked at the evolution of SteelSeries’ products.
SteelSeries timeline
- 2001: First gaming mousepad
- 2002: First brand to collaborate with esports players
- 2002: First brand to sponsor an esports event
- 2004: First gaming headset
- 2006: First mechanical gaming keyboard
- 2008: First online software solution for gaming peripherals
- 2018: First Hi-res audio system in gaming
- 2019: First magnetically adjustable keyboard
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
