Corsair acquires mechanical keyboard specialist Drop

Corsair acquires Drop, an online retailer best known for its range of mechanical keyboards and keyboard accessories such as keycaps. The deal only includes “certain assets” of Drop, but Drop CEO Jef Holove phrased the terms of the deal more simply: “Drop has been acquired by Corsair,” the CEO wrote in a post.

Neither company specifies exactly which Drop assets Corsair is acquiring, but Corsair’s press release focuses on Drop’s custom keyboards and desktop accessories. “Personalized keyboards that are customizable by the consumer are one of the fastest growing trends in gaming peripherals,” Corsair CEO Andy Paul said in a statement. “Drop has proven to be one of the leaders in this space and with Corsair’s global footprint, we expect to significantly grow the Drop brand globally. We are also pleased to be able to offer specialized Corsair and Elgato products to the enthusiastic community that Drop is engaged with.”

Originally known as Massdrop, Drop is best known for its range of keyboard components, including custom-designed keys and switches. Over the years, it has collaborated with various keycap designers in the mechanical keyboard community to produce and sell their designs and has also produced licensed designs based on Under the spell of the Ring and Marvel. It also manufactures and sells ready-made keyboards, often with designs that make them easy for the end user to customize.

According to Holove, the retailer plans to continue using an “enthusiast-led product development” approach. “With a global sales and logistics footprint, we can make Drop products more widely available and more quickly available, while maintaining the enthusiast-led product development that has made millions of fans trust Drop for their installation and hardware,” Holove said of the Corsair Partnership.

“Soon you will see new products from us that Corsair is as excited about as we are in making them. You’ll see new collaborations with community favorites. Having access to a world-class supply chain will help you get those products more reliably,” Holove said in a post. “And finally, we have the resources to stay here for you, listen to you, extend the convenience of a stock model, and track down cool stuff and present it to you.”

Corsair already produces a wide variety of mechanical keyboards and more recently has been working on making them more customizable with features like hot-swappable switches. But Corsair’s keyboards target a different market than Drop’s, with a focus on gaming performance rather than typing feel.

The exact financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Corsair’s press release says it plans to keep Drop as a separate brand within the company and that the keyboard vendor will continue to handle “all existing warranties, purchases, and customer support requests.”