Turtle Beach acquires PDP - creator of the Victrix Pro BFG and Riffmaster controllers

PDP REALMz Sonic Controller
(Image credit: PDP)

Gaming accessory manufacturer Performance Design Products (PDP) has officially been acquired by the Turtle Beach Corporation.

A statement on Turtle Beach's corporate web portal announces that the San Diego-based company acquired PDP for $118 million. It also asserts that the "combined company anticipates total revenues of $390 to 410 million in the first full 12 months of ownership (Q2 2024 through Q1 2025)."

"The Transaction combines two leading gaming companies with industry-leading teams, significant product momentum, and proven track records of delivering profitable growth," the statement reads. "The Transaction substantially grows the size of Turtle Beach. Bringing PDP’s leading gaming controller category to Turtle Beach will provide additional scale and create future development opportunities."

No matter how you feel about the acquisition, it is one that makes a degree of sense as both companies operate in the same wheelhouse, and across a broad spectrum of budgets. What's notable is that Turtle Beach now owns PDP's licensed efforts, such as the collectible Realmz headsets and controllers which feature characters from Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers, and Pikmin.

Such products show that PDP has good relations with Sega, Hasbro, and Nintendo. This is furthered by products like the PDP Enhanced Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch, which features a range of official designs from the likes of Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. All stuff Turtle Beach may now be able to leverage for its own hardware.

PDP's premium Victrix brand will also fold in neatly, with excellent products like the Victrix Pro BFG and Victrix Pro FS fight pad ranking in our best PS5 controllers guide, and lining up alongside their new brethren to offer an even more fulsome range of options.

Much like Roccat, another Turtle Beach subsidiary, PDP is likely to remain its own entity. The brand is shortly due to launch the Riffmaster peripheral, a guitar controller that's compatible with Fortnite Festival and Rock Band 4. It seems to be a very promising product if only in that it provides a contemporary and affordable way to play these games with appropriate hardware without needing to shell out potentially hundreds on older, second-hand models on eBay and the like.

Ultimately, then, it's reasonable to expect the PDP and Victrix brands to continue on as normal. You may just see the Turtle Beach branding on products and boxes in the near future.

For more PDP and Turtle Beach hardware recommendations, you may want to check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch headsets and best Xbox controllers.

Rhys Wood
Hardware Editor

Rhys is TRG's Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for more than two years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, as well as the latest and greatest in fight sticks and VR, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.

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