is a reviewer covering laptops and the occasional gadget. He spent over 15 years in the photography industry before joining The Verge as a deals writer in 2021.
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Razer is combining its various gaming chair add-ons of speakers, RGB lighting, and force feedback into one proof of concept: Project Madison. It features dual RGB light strips in the top corners, a pair of THX-certified speakers with spatial audio (which can act as the rear channels in 5.1 or 7.1 audio setups), and six haptic motor actuators in the cushions to barrage your back and posterior with Razer’s Sensa rumble.
Razer took some of these building blocks from previously released chair accessories. The Razer Clio is a headrest with wireless THX spatial audio speakers. The Freyja is a haptics-filled seat cushion that can go on any chair, and it first debuted at CES 2024 in concept form as Project Esther. And Razer has done an RGB headrest before, with its illuminated logo on the Head Cushion Chroma.
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1 / 4 The Nerdiest Gaming Chair to Rule Them All. Go ahead, Razer, trademark that.
I got to sit in the Project Madison chair for a brief demo at CES, and I can vouch for two of its three features being at least a little engaging: the speakers and haptics. Playing a quick round of Marvel Rivals, I got a nice sense of immersion as I could hear around me without needing to wear headphones. And the different kinds of weapons and character abilities made for varying styles of rumble and haptic sensations in my back and tush.
But you can’t actually see the lighting while playing, unless you take your eyes off the screen and crane your neck. I had to take my colleague at their word that the chair was lighting up and matching the keyboard and mouse Chroma RGB. Perhaps it’s streamer bait, but at least your head doesn’t block the lights like with Razer’s asinine RGB cushion.
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