PUMA Heads to Esports with Playseat CollabPUMA Heads to Esports with Playseat Collab

PUMA has partnered with gaming gear company Playseat to develop a line of video game chairs.

The agronomic seat is built to ensure gamers can maintain correct sitting position while playing video games. Using high-tech materials, the chair adapts to players’ movements as they get immersed in the on-screen action to provide a comfortable experience while gaming for hours.

“Gaming is greater with full sitting control,” says Fernando Smit, president and founder, Playseat. “That’s why we felt the need to change sitting of gamers from the traditional couch or even on the floor in front of their screens; so we created something truly unique.”

PUMA’s partnership with Playseat comes as the sports apparel company begins to explore new ways to enter the gaming and esports arena. The company recently inked a deal to become the official clothing partner of esports organization Cloud9.

“We have to start seeing gamers as athletes, with requirements particular to their sport,” says Charles Johnson, global director, innovation, PUMA. “As a sports company, we want to offer these athletes the products they need to perform at the very top."

The push into gaming from PUMA is part of a more significant trend of non-gaming brands partnering with esports brands. According to a recent Nielsen study, non-gaming brands’ involvement in esports grew by 13 percent last year.