Razer at CES — A history of wild gaming concepts with successful product launches, sample theft, and what to expect in 2025

Every year, the biggest names in tech head to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to show off their upcoming hardware, software, and a wealth of accessories. Everything competes for attention with huge contrasts between cutting-edge cars, trucks, and the tiniest gadgets, but some stand out with outrageous concept devices designed to catch the eye and fish for reactions.

Razer consistently unveils the wildest concept devices, some more theoretical than others, but it has a rich history of delivering the goods in person. Reactions vary, and not everything makes it to the production line, but its concept designs are always intriguing and at least desirable. Sometimes, they're a little too desirable, as at least one 'project' sample left the convention center in the hands of thieves.

CES 2025 is mouth-wateringly close, running between January 7 and 10, 2025. However, a few announcements happen a couple of days before the show officially opens to visitors in Las Vegas, Nevada. Razer isn't one for subtlety, regularly offering the most powerful gaming hardware in RGB-wrapped shells, and its concept devices are often the most entertaining part of its booth. I'm feeling nostalgic, so let's look back at its various concepts and whether they made it to market.

Project Switchblade (2011)

Razer identified a desire for portable PC gaming without sacrifices as far back as CES 2011 when it revealed Project Switchblade. This gaming handheld looked curiously similar to a Nintendo DS but with a set of animated buttons replicating a keyboard, much like you might see in a modern-day Elgato Stream Deck. A touchscreen would replicate mouse input, but full-size USB-A ports sold the idea of connecting a dedicated gaming mouse as it showed fast-paced FPS titles of the time, like Quake Live.

Perhaps most entertaining from a retrospective angle is Intel's definition of its "powerful" Atom processor platform as supporting "rich 3D graphics, high-definition video and lifelike animation." Still, this is an entire decade before Valve's Steam Deck would rely on a purpose-built AMD Zen 2 APU to finally make no-holds-barred PC gaming a realistic prospect with a battery-powered handheld, and it's not like Razer had much choice at the time, so the relatively weak Atom chip made sense for a concept.

Does the Switchblade still make sense going into 2025? I'd like to think so. There's no better time for Razer to get into the PC gaming handheld market since Lenovo's upcoming Legion Go S and ASUS' mid-gen ROG Ally X refresh push for specification bumps and even encroach on RGB in its controls, which is undoubtedly Razer's stomping ground. The chunky backlit buttons are perhaps a little outdated, but a small touchscreen with dedicated commands wouldn't go amiss in place of the Steam Deck's iconic touchpads.

Project Fiona (2012)

There's writing on the wall when a year passes, and Razer shifts from forcing a traditional handheld chassis to a then-flourishing format in tablets. Project Fiona, in hindsight, was actually pretty ugly with its hard-mounted joysticks that resemble some mashup of Nintendo's Wii remote and Sony's PlayStation Move controllers, but it stuck with traditional PC hardware, opting for Intel's 3rd Gen Ivy Bridge processors.

In this, it still wanted to appeal to PC gamers who wanted to skip Android ports of their favorite titles and stick with full-fat versions from their desktops and laptops. Sure, it might have been ambitious to advertise visually rich games of the time, like Assassin's Creed Revelations running on the Switchblade, but even that made its way to the Nintendo Switch in time.

From a realistic perspective, the Switchblade was huge and impractical, competing against the market-leading tablets of the time that continued to enjoy the functional ports of popular games like Grand Theft Auto for iOS and Android. On the other hand, it was a concept device that made it out into the world and allowed Razer to learn from its reception as an above-average tablet that achieved most of its goals. Love it or hate it, there's no denying Razer's tenacity and passion for genre-shifting gaming hardware.

Project Christine (2014)

At a glance, it's difficult to understand what Project Christine actually is. Poised as a modular gaming desktop PC, it's one of the most visually striking concepts I'd ever seen from Razer. Almost resembling a server rack marketed towards gamers, this tower of elongated modules could swap and change parts to supplement its base station and connect with proprietary ports for implied convenience.

Seasoned custom PC builders would rightly furrow their brows at the concept, as desktops are inherently modular by design. Nevertheless, simplifying the PC upgrade process for a novice PC gamer with a generous budget could appeal thanks to one standout feature. Yes, you might notice that the skinny modules don't leave much room for traditional fans or even custom liquid cooling, but Project Christine was set to be almost entirely cooled with oil.

Admittedly, this modular design had more varied components to consider, given its age. Physical Blu-Ray disc drives, doubled-up graphics cards running in SLI (Scalable Link Interface) for extra GPU performance, and more chunky hardware had reason to exist in modules of this size. Modern-day PCs can be ultra-compact and are arguably easier to upgrade than ever thanks to fewer necessary cables, with M.2 solid-state drives acting more like plug-in modules than wired-up disks.

Was it ambitious and maybe a little over-the-top? Sure, but it's a concept I'd love to see return, albeit with traditional connectors in place of proprietary dead-ends. Fitting a component into a single module before sliding it into place is certainly a more straightforward concept for a novice to grasp than wrestling with cable management in a custom PC case, so why not?

Project Ariana (2017)

In a not-so-unrealistic experiment, Project Ariana was Razer's attempt to give 'gaming projectors' more of a unique appeal by expanding the bounds of your existing display. Not too dissimilar to a modern-day effort in Govee's AI gaming sync box G1, the intention was to have your game escape the edges of your monitor or TV and have it project around your room. However, this solution projects actual gameplay footage onto your walls, accounting for objects and shifting shapes rather than using simple RGB colors.

It's something we were lucky enough to experience at CES in 2017, which fills some of the modern team with envy since Project Ariana never made it out of the concept phase. Gaming projectors are in a tricky category to begin with, often struggling to keep up with the lightning-fast refresh rates of monitors and even some televisions, so it's easy to see how desynchronization could impair the appeal of Ariana and whatever its latency limit might have been. Still, chroma hardware lives on, and Razer Gamer Room fills in at least some of our gaming immersion desires.

Project Valerie (2017)

In what should have been an interesting insight into the potential multi-monitor capabilities of gaming laptops, two prototype samples of Razer's Project Valerie were unfortunately stolen from the show floor at CES in 2017. It came with a $25,000 reward for anyone who could provide a reliable tip towards finding the thief (or thieves,) but it wasn't before we had a chance to see this trio of 17-inch 4K displays for ourselves.

Touted with an auto-expanding mechanic that revealed two extra monitors from behind its primary panel, gamers would be treated to an overall 11520 x 2160 resolution and extra chroma RGB lighting projecting downwards from underneath the extended chassis. Rather than an add-on display, Project Valerie was actually a complete gaming laptop with pop-out monitors built in, targeting an 'enthusiast' crowd who wanted ultra-wide gaming and better productivity in creative apps.

Razer's 3-screened laptop is bonkers in all the best ways - YouTube

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It might look unusual at a glance, but there was, and still is, a market for this kind of technology. A quick search around retailers for 'laptop screen extenders' shows low-effort imports that clip onto existing devices and connect via HDMI or USB-C, no doubt feeling like my Game Boy did in 1998 when I tacked on a magnifying glass, plug-in lamp, extended controller rests, and who knows what else. Razer wanted to make it a natural inclusion with a discreet hideaway solution, and I'm sad it never saw even a limited release.

Project Linda (2018)

Razer Project Linda hands-on from CES 2018 - YouTube

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Going down as one of the most lamented concept devices that never saw the light of day, we called Project Linda the Continuum Microsoft dreams of, but sadly, it never made it past the 'dream' stage. The device itself is inherently the shell of a gaming laptop with a distinct phone-shaped cutout where the touchpad would be, perfect for inserting a Razer Phone. The Android-based smartphone would take over processing responsibilities and even handle audio with its built-in speakers, with room left to access its fingerprint sensor.

Without the Razer Phone, there isn't much reason for Project Linda to exist, so its lifespan would have mirrored that of its drop-in counterpart. It's not impossible to imagine that Razer might have manufactured adapters for inserting its future phones, as long as they remained either exactly the same size or shrank their dimensions a touch, and maybe that would have expanded to third-party brands, too. It's a shame we'll never know for sure, as this could have been the premier 'dockable phone' solution for years to come.

Ultimate Racing Simulator (2020)

This is where Razer starts to get ambitious with its audience's desires. Sure, as a fan of driving simulators (yes, Euro Truck Simulator counts,) I've dreamt of setting something so extravagant as Razer's eRacing Simulator up in my garage or attic, but the "Ultimate Racing Simulator concept" was destined to remain a prototype unless Razer wanted to break into the arcade market. Utterly gigantic and all-encompassing, this gigantic rig had absolutely everything you would have needed for an immersive racing simulator experience.

While Razer never did break into the racing wheel scene, I've tested enough of the best wheels to know how expensive the premium-grade options become, and that's before you add a set of pedals or a racing seat, never mind a wraparound screen and projector. Selfishly, I'd say that I wish Razer did follow through with at least some parts of this monstrous cage, even if it sold them separately, but it would have suffered a combination of being too ultra-niche and ultra-expensive to survive.

Project Brooklyn (2021)

Now, this is what refinement is all about. Brooklyn is a perfect example of going back to the drawing board to strip away unnecessary parts and tweak what works into something even better. At its core, Project Brooklyn is a wild gaming chair with a collection of space-age tech built into its frame, stitching, and cushions, but its appeal soars much higher than a rig focused exclusively on sim racing. Including its still-beloved HyperSense tech for vibrating feedback and the same cable management system used on its Razer Raptor 27 gaming monitor from the same year, the primary appeal was in that gigantic display.

Realistically, the notion of a fold-out OLED screen that expands to 60 inches is one that, if nothing else, makes my wallet scream out in anticipated pain. However, it's ticking more of the right boxes for a production checklist as Razer sticks to its guns and expands on some of the categories it does best: gaming chairs and peripherals. Since this concept was left as a blueprint, we have seen some of its DNA surface in other Razer products, but the collapsing screen remains on the cutting room floor. Other brands are making breakthroughs in rolling and foldable screens, so I'm longing to see Project Brooklyn's return.

Project Hazel (2021)

CES was an all-digital affair in 2021 for obvious reasons. Most of us were either stuck at home or forced into work with ultra-strict rules and restrictions as face coverings became the norm for everyday life and not just sanitary traveling on public transport. Initially revealed as Project Hazel, a smart N95 medical-grade mask, it followed Razer's humanitarian efforts to produce over a million disposable masks and aimed to be more of a long-term solution for a changing world.

Hazel was later introduced as the Razer Zephyr smart mask, turning into a fully-fledged product for purchase, but the company later ran into a legal dispute over its N95 certification claims.

After the settlement, all mentions of Project Hazel and the Razer Zephyr have been effectively scrubbed from the company's official website, essentially demoting it back to the same status as its unreleased prototype siblings. It's one of the strangest stories from Razer's time at CES and has rarely been brought up in related conversations since then. There's (hopefully) unlikely to be any reason for the Zephyr to return — so chalk this one up to a learning experience.

Project Sophia (2022)

Is it a PC, or is it a desk? Well, actually, it's both. Project Sophia was a concept desk for "gaming in the future" that housed an Intel processor and NVIDIA GPU alongside swappable modules for extra functions. As bizarre as it was to see a desk with component specifications, it was an exciting prospect that appealed to space-conscious gamers who didn't want to stack a tower PC on top of some cheap flat-packed furniture and call it a day.

Its modular design would allow programmable hotkeys, touchscreen system monitoring modules, chat views for livestreaming, and even a Thunderbolt-powered eGPU like the Razer Core to fit flush into the desk itself. Razer initially advertised 13 modules for Project Sophia, but its appeal broadened to anyone invested in its ecosystem, as Kiyo webcams and Seiren microphones could, in theory, be fixed onto its OLED screen chassis without bulky table clamps. A wild idea, but one I've seen attempted by DIY Youtubers, so it's not too crazy for me to believe it could have existed.

Enki Pro HyperSense (2022)

In the past few years, Razer has put even more focus into its gaming chairs when testing the waters for concepts, which dramatically increased its chances of them becoming a reality. This modified version of the Razer Enki Pro we reviewed would push vibrating haptic feedback motors into its premium Enki Pro HyperSense running throughout its cushions, all the way up to the headrest, itself prominently featuring RGB in its stitching.

It revisited the concept for a Dolce&Gabbana collaboration with the same Enki Pro chair, but this time, loading the RGB throughout the backrest. It's a little different from the usual vibrating chairs that might attract those who work from home, promoting more visceral feedback from explosions and gunshots in games rather than a deep tissue massage for good posture and vascular health.

Technically, it never had a project codename, and the Razer Enki Pro HyperSense hasn't seen a full release just yet. Besides, RGB in chairs has me feeling the same way about its inclusion in Razer Hammerhead earbuds; it's cool for a while, but the novelty wears off. However, the haptic feedback feature will return a couple of years later.

Project Carol (2023)

The codenames return for Project Carol, which continues the theme of HyperSense in gaming chairs but focuses the haptic feedback tech entirely in this custom headrest. Distancing itself from the previous concepts, this prototype was actually designed to be compatible with practically any gaming chair and not just those manufactured by Razer. It was wireless, too, running 2.4GHz signals directly to a compatible PC or laptop and running from a battery with an 8-hour charge.

It's one of the more realistic concepts shown at CES, but Razer never brought it to market. Instead, the haptics-for-your-head appeal moved to its headsets, with the Razer Kraken V4 Pro sporting the company's modern Sensa HD instead of HyperSense. I wear my headphones literally every day while I'm working and again in the evening when playing games, so I'm drawn to the appeal of a high-quality speaker set that doesn't have to be cranked up all day, upsetting my neighbors — maybe Project Carol is still within a chance to replace the Leviathan V2 Pro soundbar?

Project Esther (2024)

Finally, and another example of the most recent successful move from concept to reality is Project Esther, revealed alongside the Iskur V2 gaming chair at CES in 2024. It separated the HyperSense-turned-Sensa HD haptics from Razer's chairs and moved it into a dedicated cushion, which would later become the Razer Freyja after 9 months.

Naming it "a uniquely immersive addition to your PC gaming arsenal" in our Razer Freyja review, it retained the one-size-fits-all mentality of Project Carol and pushed an evolved version of the Enki Pro HyperSense with a moderately reduced price tag. It still launched at $300 MSRP, which isn't nothing, but it made enough of an impression on Managing Editor Richard Devine to justify its cost and score at our CES 2024 awards.

What might Razer be planning for CES 2025?

There are two distinct predictions running in my head, one logical and the other made up entirely of hope and crossed fingers. The first seems fairly obvious: Razer will probably bring a new Razer Blade laptop to CES 2025, touting new NVIDIA graphics cards with that 50-Series branding we're not supposed to know about. I still attest that the Razer Blade 18 (2024) is the best gaming laptop I've ever used in my life, owing to its absolute top-of-the-line hardware combo.

It's hardly a concept prediction, but using the latest and greatest GeForce RTX GPUs could afford Razer to bring Project Valerie back to life, albeit with increased security. Maybe it would be surrounded by armed guards this time or perhaps encased in bulletproof glass, but I'd love to see a completely insane laptop prototype make a return this year rather than another gaming chair modification. Otherwise, maybe Razer will opt for discrete desktop GPUs and revisit the modular vibes of Project Christine; who knows?

Still, my second and more lofty prediction is that Razer could give us a glimpse at a new PC gaming handheld, perhaps using yet-unannounced components that force it to remain a concept until later in the year. After all, plenty of other gaming brands have tried, some more successfully than others, and the category is set to grow at an alarming rate when SteamOS inevitably opens to third-party devices.

If MSI can have a second shot at the 'Claw' and Lenovo continues to expand its Legion Go range, I can't understand why Razer's engineers would take a backseat and watch other brands eat their lunch. It feels all the more obvious when I sit to play some games on my ASUS ROG Ally and see the RGB-laden controls light up, thinking, "shouldn't this be Razer's gig?"

Yes, it should, and I'm hoping to see at least a hint of Razer delivering its age-old Project Switchblade concept with ultra-modern domination by using everything it learned from Blade laptops. CES 2025 isn't too far away, and my suspicions will either be confirmed or denied in a matter of weeks. Until then, I'm looking back at Razer's unique blend of genius and insanity with these historical concepts.