One of the Apple accessory industry’s oldest developers, Elgato Systems, announced today that it will rebrand itself as Eve Systems and narrow its focus to Apple HomeKit smart home accessories. Corsair is purchasing the company’s original name and game accessory division, which specializes in easy-to-use video capture devices.
Elgato has been selling HomeKit accessories under the Eve name for several years, becoming one of the most dedicated supporters of Apple’s smart home initiative. Eve Energy is a smart plug, while Eve Flare is a smart LED lamp, Eve Room is an indoor temperature and humidity sensor, and Eve Smoke is a smoke detector. All can be controlled through a unified Eve app, Apple’s Home app for iOS and macOS Mojave devices, the Apple Watch, or the HomePod smart speaker. Going forward, the Eve accessories will merely drop the Elgato name.
Apart from Eve products, the company was best known for Mac accessories such as its Thunderbolt Docks, and video capture tools including the HD60 Pro and 4K60 Pro, which have proved popular with game streamers. However, the latest Elgato “Pro” series capture products have been Windows PC only, relying on PCIe slots that aren’t included or user-accessible in current Macs.
“Today, the Gaming space is more dynamic and exciting than ever,” said Elgato founder Markus Fest, “and we sought a larger partner to help us capitalize on the phenomenal opportunities ahead. … The brand has been with us for almost twenty years and we are obviously a little sad to see it go, but Corsair is a fantastic company and will be a great new home for Elgato.”
Fest will continue as CEO of Eve as Corsair takes responsibility for “Elgato Gaming,” but the fate of Elgato’s non-gaming Thunderbolt products remains unclear. Eve promises to debut additional HomeKit accessories at IFA Berlin, held from August 31 to September 5.
Update at 9:40 a.m. Pacific: A spokesperson for Eve notes that Corsair is buying all of Elgato’s non-gaming products, including “Thunderbolt Dock and all other non-gaming products besides the Eve Line.”
