If you’re a gamer with an interest in design, IKEA thinks you’ll love its new “Gaming Furniture” range, which will be available in stores from September 2024.
The furniture giant says its 20-piece Brännboll collection “challenges conventional gaming design” and should coexist more harmoniously in your home than the Secretlab gaming chair.
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But the series seems more like a brilliant marketing ploy than an actual attempt to satisfy the needs of gamers. Much of Brännboll looks like regular old Ikea furniture, complete with an Asus ROG Ally console or a Meta Quest 2 VR headset. The gaming market in the U.S. alone is currently estimated to be worth around $282 billion, and IKEA’s only previous foray into the industry was a small batch of black and red gaming furniture launched in 2021.
There is a hidden folding desktop in the tall cabinet, which can store computers and monitors.
Image source: IKEA
Rolling casters store gaming tech and accessories.
Image source: IKEA
Some products really make sense for gamers, like a tall cabinet that opens to reveal a foldable table top that holds a computer and monitor (a handy product for people working from home, too). The second product is a green table and chair designed to resemble the traditional gaming chairs that Ikea claims to be ditching. The third piece, ‘easy chair’, is described by ‘engag’ as providing a new “dynamic component for virtual gaming experiences”[ing] The player’s body swings from side to side as they move. “
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The centerpiece of Brännboll is an easy chair and several low seats, including an inflatable donut-shaped composition that is light enough to be hung on a wall hook. The range also includes mouse pads, rugs and throw and storage solutions such as wall-mounted cabinets, wheeled casters and multifunctional baskets.