Today, SteelSeries, the leading manufacturer of premium-quality, competitive gaming peripherals and Ignite Game Technologies, an online gaming company focused on building a new form of auto racing game, announced their partnership and plans to bring an exclusive new form of racing controller to market, later this year. The partnership is being announced today in conjunction with the announcement of Ignite's online racing game environment, Simraceway.

The joint venture was formed to examine innovative ways to improve driving game controllers and will leverage SteelSeries' deep expertise in professional gaming equipment with unique expertise developed from Ignites' research into improving the racing game. The hardware will be designed to work with all major PC racing titles but will work particularly well with Ignite's just announced online racing game environment - Simraceway.

"It has been a part of who we are as a company to collaborate with professional gaming teams in identifying features and technologies that will enhance gameplay; whether it's with peripherals that improve how teams hear approaching footsteps in an FPS, or the ability to create multiple layers of macros for more efficient raiding in MMO's, it's this joint force that sets what we do apart from the rest," said Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries. "The Ignite team has applied that same outlook to their gaming platform, by working with the best, most recognized drivers in auto racing. We're thrilled to be partnering with them, in supporting both the launch of the new online racing community and by teaming up to bring a new, original product to the market, later this year."

For the past 10 years, SteelSeries has worked with competitive gaming teams to support, design and build peripherals that will impact and improve their professional game-play, while Ignite has focused on developing the most realistic live, online racing environment. The new racing environment, Simraceway, set to launch this fall, will feature simulation grade driving physics and have a strong focus on close, hard, live multiplayer racing. Some of the world's top racing drivers will be using the environment for both practice and fun and will be competing alongside everyday gamers. To further enhance this environment, SteelSeries and Ignite Game Technologies are working together to create a unique device that will greatly improve upon current racing game controllers.

"The reason we founded Ignite was to examine ways to improve the racing game and we feel it wouldn't be possible to achieve that goal without looking at how users physically interface with racing games," said Jonathan Haswell, CEO of Ignite. "We are excited to bring our thoughts in this area to life and fully explore the realism improvements that can be achieved through combining Simraceway's racing game environment directly with a custom hardware solution. It is exciting to have a partner with the brand and depth of experience of SteelSeries, with which to do that."