Theresa Gaffney
Gamers have been the subject of many quarantine memes this week for relishing in the era of social distancing. However, Razer is showing that gamers also have an incredibly community-oriented spirit by pledging to donate up to 1 million surgical masks to COVID-19 relief efforts.
Changing production
CEO Min-Liang Tan, who is actively uses Twitter to engage the Razer user base, made the announcement last night. “We intend to donate up to 1M masks to the health authorities of different countries globally,” Tan said. “For starters, we’ve been in touch with the authorities in Singapore (where the @Razer SEA HQ is based) to donate some of the initial shipments to assist their fight against COVID-19. “
This is a big departure from the usual Razer production line. The company is known primarily for peripherals and PCs, and the fact that they craft their products specifically for gamers. Razer is taking the facilities that normally produce these items and converting them to make the much needed surgical masks.
Setting a tone for the world
There are other world figures asking for companies to do the same. Late last week, New York State governor Andrew Cuomo offered incentives for businesses to switch gears and create much needed items. What Tang is doing with Razer is an example of such a company going above and beyond in a crisis.
“All of us have a part to play in fighting the virus – no matter which industry we come from,” Tang continued in his Twitter thread. With GM and Space-X also hopping in soon to make ventilators, we may see additional items coming from gaming-related company production lines as well. Hopefully others will follow suit to help healthcare systems now under strain from an influx of patients.
If there’s anything gamers do well, it’s solving puzzles and creating strategies that work. Razer is certainly proving that point, and we can be thankful for that.
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