The use of licensed avatars depicting professional esports players, notably T1’s Faker, has been highlighted as a key feature of Razer’s upcoming Project AVA AI companion. This development, shown at CES 2026, represents a distinct intersection where esports personalities are being integrated into consumer artificial intelligence hardware, moving beyond traditional sponsorship or endorsement roles.
Razer’s product, which evolved from a concept for an esports coaching tool, now includes a library of avatars for its 5.5-inch desktop unit. An announcement video prominently featured Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, the legendary League of Legends player, as an example of available AI persona. This indicates a direct strategy to leverage the brand power and recognition of top-tier competitive gaming athletes for product personalisation.
Min-Liang Tan, Co-founder and CEO of Razer, shared the announcement on LinkedIn, stating, “From planning your day to analyzing spreadsheets and game starts, Razer Project AVA leverages advanced AI inferencing and reasoning that dynamically evolves based on your personal interactions.” Ming also addresses the available avatars by highlighting an “expanding library of characters from esports legends to custom anime-inspired Razer designs.”
The inclusion of a figure like Faker directly connects this ecosystem to the existing esports fanbase, possibly opening doors to a new form of digital merchandising for professional players.
Interested users in the US can now reserve a Project AVA unit on Razer’s website. The reservation requires a $20 deposit, which is fully refundable and will be applied to the final purchase price upon release. The AI companion, which currently uses Grok engine, is scheduled to ship in the second half of 2026.
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