Razer acquires parts of Android game company Ouya

Razer, which makes peripherals for gamers, has partly acquired Ouya. It was rumored that the company, maker of the Ouya console, was struggling with financial problems and was looking for a takeover partner.

Among other things, Razer is acquiring Ouya’s software arm, as well as Ouya’s platform for serving games and the content on that platform. Although Razer says it is interested in using Android on game consoles, the company is not acquiring Ouya’s hardware business. Ouya’s CEO, Julie Uhrman, is also not coming.

Razer is going to incorporate Ouya’s platform into its Cortex TV platform. In addition, the software store of Ouya console is renamed Cortex for Android TV. The existing 200,000 owners of an Ouya will be migrated. In the long run, they will have to buy new Razer equipment instead, but Razer promises ‘significant discounts’. The Ouya platform will remain up and running for the next twelve months.

Razer won’t disclose how much it paid for Ouya; Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan only wants to tell TechCrunch that the purchase was made entirely with money, and not with shares. The Android game console Ouya was the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign, but it has been rumored for some time that the company was looking for a takeover partner due to financial problems.