SteelSeries Shares Plan on Upcoming Gaming Headsets at E3 2016

SteelSeries gave us the scoop during a private meeting at E3 2016 on a new gaming headset lineup in development that takes inspiration from the functional aspects of sports equipment such as ski goggles and skateboard decks. Codenamed “Alaska”, the trio of upcoming headsets step away from the forced edginess of what a gaming headset should look like and embraces an approach towards lifestyle design.

SteelSeries is not yet ready to show off the development units, but were more than happy to share and explain to us this new design philosophy that challenges not only the gaming headset lines of their competitors, but even their own existing ones.

Taking inspiration from ski goggles, designed to be lightweight and comfortable for very long and intense conditions, the new headsets should feature the same elastic headband material for a new self-adjusting suspended headband. This stretchable, but robust material is far more forgiving as far as comfort is concerned compared to the more rigid characteristic design of the SteelSeries Siberia lineup. Taking inspiration from how skateboarders and snowboarders choose and sometimes decorate their boards, the new headsets will have a flowing wide flat geometry that opens the possibility for customization with colors, art, and stickers. Taking inspiration from running shoes, the padding on the earcups is covered with mesh cloth not unlike that used for athletic wear for a soft feel and moisture wicking property.

In addition to the new headset look accommodating a wide reach of personalities, SteelSeries wants to bring a sound that encompasses the full range of multimedia gamers typically enjoy including music and video content. Instead of forcing how gamers should hear their audio, these upcoming headsets are intended to deliver the best sound regardless of usage.

The tentative release is expected to be this fall. The yet unnamed headsets consist of an $80 analog headset, $100 USB headset with RGB lighting, and a $150 wireless headset with RGB lighting.