Gaming hardware icon growing in South Africa
International hardware giant Razer wants to continue expanding its brand in South Africa after seeing continued success in the local market.
The brand is looking to work with more retailers and online storefronts to increase the local availability of Razer products for South African gamers.
Razer’s official local distributor, Apex Interactive, told MyBroadband that the gaming hardware brand is doing well in the country.
“We see a lot of excitement and room to grow. This is because gamers here are very passionate and know a lot about gaming,” the company said.
Razer remained one of the world’s most recognisable gaming hardware makers, often using snake-themed names for its products.
In 2014, the company launched its Chroma lineup, allowing gamers to customise RGB lighting on devices with up to 16.8 million colour combinations.
The Chroma series of mice and keyboards drove rivals to incorporate RGB customisation across products aimed at gamers.
Apex Interactive said that Razer wants to work closer with retailers, gaming groups, influencers, and e-sports tournaments and groups to expand its local presence.
“This way gamers in South Africa can get the latest and greatest from Razer,” it said.
The brand has slated some new products for the South African market in 2026, for which it can’t share any details yet. Announcements are expected soon, Apex said.
“Razer is also planning some promotions for Black Friday,” it added.
The company said that it is looking forward to growing the brand in the region and to continuing to deliver innovative products to local gamers.
However, Apex also noted that Razer has faced some market challenges locally despite its performance.
It said currency fluctuations and supply chain issues have been the main pressure points on its business locally. However, Apex said that it hasn’t been affected by the global memory crisis.
“It has not impacted Razer products for African gamers,” the distributor said.
Memory crisis bites on South African hardware prices
South African hardware reseller and e-commerce company Evetech told MyBroadband in April that the ongoing memory crisis “hit everyone hard, including us.”
Since the fourth quarter of 2025, Evetech said it has seen DDR5 RAM prices increase by 180% to 220% in the country.
Meanwhile, the price of DDR4 RAM, which is the previous generation of the technology, also saw significant increases, up 90% to 140% since the end of 2025.
SSDs, essential components for PC storage, saw prices on Evetech rise by 70% to 90%, and GPUs that process graphics in games rose by 20% to 25%.
Prices for already expensive PC components were rising internationally due to the tech industry’s push into generative AI and the data centre facilities that power AI capabilities.
Global firms are rapidly purchasing memory hardware in droves to boost their data centre capacity, causing rolling supply chain problems for the companies that produce it.
The result is higher prices for consumers, who have to deal with the residual effects of massive demand for hardware against a struggling supply.
Evetech explained that local sellers could somewhat cushion customers against these price increases by relying on existing product inventories.
“We carry deep inventory, so a lot of what’s on our shelves now was bought at older pricing, which helps cushion things for customers in the short term,” it said.
However, this cushion on product prices could only be extended for as long as the inventory lasted. When new products have to be brought in, prices will have to increase.
“We can only hold that for so long,” said Evetech. “Our honest advice right now is if you need hardware and you can afford it, buy now.”
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