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NZXT buys Forge and expands reach into gameplay capture and sharing

NZXT is best known for its computer cases and other gear, though it may have aspirations of branching out beyond PC hardware. The company announced it is acquiring Forge, makers of a free app for capturing and sharing gameplay videos, and we have to wonder if NZXT is up to something with its CAM utility.

The announcement is big on hype and short on details. NZXT mentions it is a proponent of the "smart PC" through integrated software, which is what its CAM software provides, but stops short of saying how Forge ties into it all.

"At NZXT we feel that while the industry has made great strides in simplifying the experience of building and using a gaming PC, there is still an enormous opportunity for improvement," said Johnny Hou, NZXT's founder. "This partnership is another step in making the PC the best gaming platform."

Hou did offer up that adding the Forge team to the mix will help NZXT advance tools like CAM, though exactly how remains to be seen. CAM, for anyone not familiar, is a neat utility NZXT offers for managing its various smart products, like its HUE+ and GRID+ lighting and fan controllers. NZXT also integrates smart controllers into some of its cases, which are controlled through CAM.

Outside of CAM, NZXT has mostly been involved on the hardware side of things. There was a time when NZXT made some garish cases, like the Nemesis Elite, but it has grown and adapted with the market over the years. These days it constructs some downright excellent enclosures, and offers cooling products and power supplies as well. More recently, it unveiled its first (and so far only) motherboard, the N7 Z370 with a customizable color scheme.

On the surface, acquiring Forge doesn't seem like a big deal. However, NZXT is clearly looking to expand its reach. In a separate post, Forge founder Jared Kim confirmed that the entire team is joining NZXT to "lead some major software initiatives."

"Hardware complexity is a huge hurdle for many PC gamers and we plan to leverage software to reduce that problem," said Jared Kim. "The chance for our amazing software team to be directly involved in every facet of the development of PC gaming hardware is a unique opportunity. We are excited to work with NZXT to define their next generation of products."

We've reached out to NZXT to see if it can share additional details on the acquisition, and specifically about its future plans. We'll update this article when we hear back.
