Robert “RazerGuy” Krakoff, the co-founder of Razer and pioneer of the gaming mouse, has died at the age of 81.
Krakoff passed away on April 26, 2022, and Razer shared a message on Twitter announcing the sad news.
“We are saddened by the passing of Co-Founder and President Emeritus, Robert Krakoff, known by everyone as RazerGuy,” Razer wrote. “Robert’s unwavering drive and passion for gaming lives on and continues to inspire all of us. Thank you Rob, you will be missed.”
We are saddened by the passing of Co-Founder and President Emeritus, Robert Krakoff, known by everyone as RazerGuy. Robert’s unwavering drive and passion for gaming lives on and continues to inspire all of us.
Thank you Rob, you will be missed. pic.twitter.com/2HKNcFaOj2
— R Λ Z Ξ R (@Razer) April 28, 2022
As reported by The Verge, Krakoff was instrumental in bringing the first gaming mouse – the Razer Boomslang – to market in 1999. Krakoff was working for Kärna at the time, a company that invented an “opto-mechanical encoding wheel that could track a mouse’s movements at 2000 dpi, far higher resolution than other mice at the time.”
Krakoff did not create the Razer Boomslang, but was a key figure in making it happen alongside a marketing agency called Fitch that essentially kickstarted the Razer brand we know today. This includes the name, three-headed snake logo, website, packaging, and the design and engineering of the Boomslang mouse.
Kärna went bankrupt in 2001 and Krakoff would continue on to co-found Razer with Razer’s current CEO Min-Lian Tan in 2005.
At Razer, Krakoff would become the public face of the company and would not only include a message from RazerGuy with Razer products, but he also added his e-mail to the note as well. He was also known for having interviews with up-and-coming journalists and would even give some of them jobs.
Following his time at Razer, he would start a company MindFX Science, which focused on energy drinks and supplements in hopes to sell a “healthy alternative to the highly caffeinated energy drinks and pre-workout products.”
He was also a published author under the name RM Krakoff, writing a dozen books since 2009 that ranged from fiction to nonfiction.
Krakoff is survived by his wife, Dr. Patsi Krakoff, their two children, Scott and Robin, and five “very cool” grandchildren.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.