A hologram AI companion, a haptic gaming chair, “smart” headphones — Razer’s hardware at CES was a little different this year

It feels like Razer has its hands in a little bit of everything at this point, but I still more or less know what to expect when I meet with the Razer team... until this Consumer Electronics Show, at least.

If you were expecting Razer Blade updates or new competitive PC and console gaming accessories at CES 2026, you won't find them here. Razer's showings this year were a little different, and I never quite knew what I'd be checking out next.

Razer's gaming AI companion is entering the physical world, the company has decided that smart headphones make a lot more sense than smart glasses, your gaming chair could one day offer all-in-one immersion, and... what else? Oh, the Razer Wolverine V3 is getting a Bluetooth variant designed with your TV in mind. Here's what you need to know.

Razer is experimenting and expanding

It's no secret that Razer has been investing more and more into artificial intelligence, especially given that the company unveiled its own gaming-centric AI companion, Project Ava, last CES.

AI is only becoming more important for Razer (like with many tech companies), and CES 2026 saw Project Ava take on an all-new form supported by a year of growth and evolution. Soon, instead of an unseen presence on your screen, Project Ava will be able to live on your desk as an actual, holographic companion that can see and hear you in real time. I didn't see this one coming, I'll be honest.

This is a real product coming this year, and you can actually reserve your own in the USA. The latest version of Project Ava will be a 5.5-inch, animated avatar contained within a very Razer-esque cylinder, and will theoretically be able to help you in real-life and on-screen with gaming, productivity, and everyday life.

Razer's initial avatars look pulled straight from anime, and the list will apparently grow as Project Ava's capabilities and popularity does. I'm not sure how many people will actually buy into this product, but I have to give Razer props for trying something different and trying to make AI fun in its own way.

While we're on the subject of AI companions that stick close to you, Razer also showed off its spin on the expanding smart wearables market, which is currently dominated by products like AR glasses. Enter Project Motoko, a concept for a pair of smart headphones equipped with dual PoV cameras.

By "PoV," I mean these headphones are designed to actually see exactly what you see by matching your eyeline, while most smart glasses are slightly above. Razer also argues that people are generally more comfortable wearing headphones than glasses, people with glasses don't have to worry about prescriptions, headphones make conversing with your AI companion more private, and — at the end of the day — you can simply use these as a great pair of wireless, Bluetooth headphones.

The idea is to have an always-present AI companion that sees and hears what you do, and can answer questions, provide feedback or directions, suggest ideas, translate languages, recognize images and objects, and more. Project Ava isn't making another appearance here, though, as Razer is planning to leave Mokoto open to the user; you'll be able to choose the LLM or AI companion that best suits your needs, which will run natively on the headphones until it needs your device's internet connection.

As you may have guessed from that last section, Razer is also planning to release Project Mokoto as a real product, but it won't look quite like this. The initial concept is built on something like the Razer Barracuda X Chroma I reviewed, but the final product could look very different (and will be flagship-level). Razer gave me a very tentative "2026" window for a potential launch, but that's absolutely not confirmed right now.

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Razer also showed off a concept chair; no, not the concept chair that Razer showed off last CES with the built-in cooling and heating. Project Madison is all about immersion, bringing comfort, audio, haptics, and RGB together in one cohesive product. If you're familiar with the Razer Freya we reviewed, imagine a gaming chair with that built in, and with THX stereo speakers flanking your head, and reactive Razer Chroma lighting baked into the headrest.

Will this ever be a real product? I don't know; unlike the two previous "projects," Madison is following precedent in that it may never be available to purchase — but the ideas and concepts can absolutely influence future Razer products. Something you can buy is the Razer Iskur V2 NewGen. As the name suggests, it's basically the Razer Iskur V2 we reviewed, but with Razer taking in feedback about comfort and ergonomics to make it a better chair.

Finally, there's the Razer Wolverine V3 Bluetooth, a more mobile-oriented version of the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro we reviewed and loved. This controller takes the familiar design and class-leading controls, but takes advantage of cutting-edge ultra-low latency Bluetooth for maximum performance. It was also designed in partnership with LG, with native integration with the LG Gaming Portal and built-in TV controls.

I always have fun hanging out with Razer, and I can usually count on the company to surprise me with something. At CES 2026, nothing here stood out to me as something I personally need, but I like that Razer is continuing to experiment and try new things, as well as expanding into new categories. Hopefully, Windows Central will get its hands on a lot of this as it releases in the coming months.

What do you think about Razer's hardware announcements at CES 2026? Was there anything you were hoping to see that wasn't here? Let us know in the comments below!

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