Razer Gets Into Beverages With Respawn Gamer Drink

By Andrew E. Freedman
published

(Image credit: Razer)

Razer, which makes peripherals, laptops and all things RGB, has moved into the beverage space, starting with today's announcement of, you guessed it, a drink for gamers. It’s called Respawn, and the company classifies it as a “mental performance drink” that is a “standalone spinoff from Razer.”

The drink is actually more of a powder that you mix into a tumbler with 16 to 20 ounces of water and shake to produce the final product. For $24.99, you get a 20-pack of sticks in four flavors: watermelon pomegranate, blue raspberry, green apple and tropical pineapple. If you want a Respawn branded tumbler to make it in, that’s sold separately for $29.99.

Razer is insistent that this is not an energy drink, though it does have 95mg of caffeine per serving. That’s about the same amount as a cup of coffee, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Red Bull advertises as having 80mg in an 8.4-ounce can, and that is a self-described energy drink (of course, Red Bull does some larger servings in some locales).

(Image credit: Razer)

Other active ingredients include green tea extract, ginger and choline, a water-soluble substance found in some vitamins and supplements.

Why a gamer drink? Razer suggests it will increase focus and reaction times as well as keep gamers stimulated over long play sessions. But because the drink doesn’t have sugar, the company suggests you won’t get the same crash as an energy drink. If you’re not a gamer, Razer is also aiming it at content creators and others who spend lots of time in front of the computer.

We had some early samples floating around the office, sampled by a few teams. Personally, I found the tropical pineapple to be the best, most natural tasting flavor, followed by watermelon pomegranate. But that was a low bar to clear, especially with the odd tasting blue raspberry, which left a chemical ginger aftertaste in my mouth. I felt a tiny burst of energy. However, a colleague was riled enough to practice some taekwondo. So you could say effects may vary. I can assure you it didn’t make me better at focusing on work or gaming.

If you’re interested in a gaming drink to complete your setup, now you can get one from a bona fide gaming company. Those looking for a fix can try Amazon or respawnbyrazer.com.

Just be careful with the blue raspberry. Trust me on that one.

Andrew E. Freedman
Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @FreedmanAE

Topics
Gaming
Razer
10 Comments Comment from the forums
  • salgado18
    with 16 to 20 ounces of water
    in an 8.4-ounce can

    What's an 'ounce'? :unsure::unsure::unsure::unsure::unsure::unsure::unsure::unsure::unsure:


    Really, is it so hard to put something like "8.4 ounces (240 ml) of water"? Also to inches, feet and other parts of the body, to international units? Or maybe block this website outside the US? Come on guys, you hold such high standards in technology reporting and testing, do it too in the writing! (to all Tom's Hardware, not just you Andrew)
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    $25 for 20 packets? Couldn't you just buy some packets of Kool-Aid and caffeine? Checking on Amazon, you could get 250 100mg caffeine capsules for around $10, and a 16-flavor Kool-Aid variety pack with enough powder to make about 200 16oz servings for $15. These guys are charging 10 times as much per serving for what is essentially the same thing. : P

    salgado18 said:
    What's an 'ounce'?
    What did it take? 10 seconds to find an answer? Perhaps a "Mental Performance Drink" would make the conversion process easier? Unfortunately, these caffeinated Kool-Aid packets are only being sold in the US, so it doesn't even matter. >_>
    Reply
  • salgado18
    cryoburner said:
    What did it take? 10 seconds to find an answer? Perhaps a "Mental Performance Drink" would make the conversion process easier? Unfortunately, these caffeinated Kool-Aid packets are only being sold in the US, so it doesn't even matter. >_>
    A bit more, since ounce is a measure of weight, and water is measured worldwide as volume. It is equivalent, but also needlessly confusing.

    But the criticism is not about this news itself, but about Tom's in general. Measurements are all done exclusively in inches and pounds, and anyone interested in metric units must keep converting lots of numbers all the time. And all it takes a journalist is a few seconds to convert and type "5 inches (12.7 cm)". Yes, I can convert myself, but thousands of people will waste a few seconds to do something that could be done only once, during the conception of the article.
    Reply
  • Gam3r01
    salgado18 said:
    A bit more, since ounce is a measure of weight, and water is measured worldwide as volume. It is equivalent, but also needlessly confusing.

    But the criticism is not about this news itself, but about Tom's in general. Measurements are all done exclusively in inches and pounds, and anyone interested in metric units must keep converting lots of numbers all the time. And all it takes a journalist is a few seconds to convert and type "5 inches (12.7 cm)". Yes, I can convert myself, but thousands of people will waste a few seconds to do something that could be done only once, during the conception of the article.
    An ounce is a unit of weight yes, half the time.
    However, when discussing liquids its a fluid ounce, or 1/16 of a pint.
    Its not a measure of weight.
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    salgado18 said:
    A bit more, since ounce is a measure of weight, and water is measured worldwide as volume.
    I thought you were just being dramatic when you asked what an oz was earlier, do you genuinely not know it can be a unit of volume? I live in Canada where we're officially metric but I think everyone still knows what an oz is.
    Reply
  • salgado18
    TJ Hooker said:
    I thought you were just being dramatic when you asked what an oz was earlier, do you genuinely not know it can be a unit of volume? I live in Canada where we're officially metric but I think everyone still knows what an oz is.
    Canada is close enough to the US to know that. But everywhere else oz is that place where Dorothy went :p

    You just made my point: how can someone educated in the metric system know that there is a unit of measurement that can be used both for volume and mass? And that it is 1/16th of another esoteric unit? Is Tom's for US and Canada only? Do all canadians know what an oz is?

    I'm just asking for better information. There are very few places in the world that use imperial units, yet English is the main language on the internet. Other countries will come here for info, and will get confused. And they see ads, too, if you know what I mean ;)
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    salgado18 said:
    Canada is close enough to the US to know that. But everywhere else oz is that place where Dorothy went
    They know what an oz is in the UK. And I'm guessing a number of other current or former commonwealth countries.

    Does the volume of the beverages even matter for understanding this article?
    Reply
  • Gam3r01
    salgado18 said:
    Canada is close enough to the US to know that. But everywhere else oz is that place where Dorothy went :p

    You just made my point: how can someone educated in the metric system know that there is a unit of measurement that can be used both for volume and mass? And that it is 1/16th of another esoteric unit? Is Tom's for US and Canada only? Do all canadians know what an oz is?

    I'm just asking for better information. There are very few places in the world that use imperial units, yet English is the main language on the internet. Other countries will come here for info, and will get confused. And they see ads, too, if you know what I mean ;)
    To be fair, you are posting on the US site, so it would make sense to be in this form.
    Additionally, an ounce is abbreviated oz, and fluid ounces are fl
    They are different units.
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    Gam3r01 said:
    Additionally, an ounce is abbreviated oz, and fluid ounces are fl
    They are different units.
    More often than not, fluid ounces tend to just be referred to as ounces though, so there could be some confusion there. It's also probably worth pointing out that US fluid ounces are slightly larger than Imperial fluid ounces, because these units were determined hundreds of years ago when different countries often had varying units of measurement using the same names. : P

    It's really just a matter of typing something along the lines of "20 ounces in liters" into a search engine though, much like one might do for currency conversion.
    Reply
  • salgado18
    Gam3r01 said:
    To be fair, you are posting on the US site, so it would make sense to be in this form.
    It does make sense, but is this site's audience only in the US?

    cryoburner said:
    More often than not, fluid ounces tend to just be referred to as ounces though, so there could be some confusion there. It's also probably worth pointing out that US fluid ounces are slightly larger than Imperial fluid ounces, because these units were determined hundreds of years ago when different countries often had varying units of measurement using the same names. : P

    It's really just a matter of typing something along the lines of "20 ounces in liters" into a search engine though, much like one might do for currency conversion.
    Now extrapolate that to a PC case review, with overall dimensions, GPU clearance, cooler height, PSU length, weight etc. Look at all the things non-imperials have to convert just to understand the article.

    I'm just asking for both measurement systems on articles, is it too much to ask? :confused2:
    Reply