Bang & Olufsen today unveiled a collaboration in a somewhat surprising field. The honored Struer company will for the next three years join forces with an almost equally well-known Danish company, namely the e-sports team Astralis.
The collaboration does not mean that Counterstrike athletes will have to compete wearing Beoplay H95 headphones in the future. The only visible B&O touch will be on the clothes of Astralis’ FIFA team for the time being.
Bang & Olufsen, on the other hand, will make sure that there is good sound available when the players relax away from the screen.
In the long run, however, Bang & Olufsen has ulterior motives that go beyond just shirt sponsorships and well-known faces for advertising use. The press release from B&O states that the Astralis team must utilize its unique insight into the gaming industry to help B&O develop the company’s future products for gaming.
News for gaming, spring of 2021
The first product in B&O’s gaming portfolio will be a set of headphones that should become “a refined meeting between luxurious design and gaming.” The headphones will be available in the spring of 2021.
“We’re excited to partner with one of the world’s leading e-sports organizations as we venture into the gaming industry. The players we want to reach have grown up with gaming and use it to relax and have fun. They challenge themselves and provide mental stimulation. They have the passion and the means to invest in gaming hardware, but unfortunately often find that the industry is lagging behind when it comes to appreciating sound, quality and comfort,” says Christoffer Poulsen , SVP for Product Management at B&O.