Corsair Acquires Endor & Fanatec

Fanatec-Endor-Corsair-Purchase.jpg
Image: Endor / Fanatec
After months of dramatic developments, it is now official: US hardware giant Corsair acquires Endor AG and its Fanatec brand.

What started with the dismissal of Endor/Fanatec Founder Thomas Jackermeier as the company's CEO and continued as an explosive series of events now culminates in an official acquisition: Corsair, who first acted as strategic investor and later stated that they were still interested in Endor after the StaRug proceedings fell through, purchases Endor AG as part of an asset deal.

That means that Fanatec, one of the most popular brands of sim racing hardware, is now entirely in the hands of the US-based hardware and gaming peripheral giant. In doing so, the company also takes over all active employment contracts of Endor's, according to the official statement - a relief for current Endor/Fanatec employees for now.

Full Liquidation Of Endor​

With the acquisition of Endor, "the shares in the foreign subsidiaries will also be transferred", and Endor AG will be "fully liquidated as part of the insolvency proceedings." That, in turn, means that Endor will cease to be listed on the stock exchange as well - but interestingly, the statement also mentions that "shareholders should expect not to receive any payments". Meanwhile, "the company's real estate remains up for sale".

Most recently, an Extraordinary General Meeting had been planned, initiated by Jackermeier and his Bamboo Investment GmbH, with the main purpose of withdrawing confidence from the Management Board. The meeting was allowed to go ahead by the Local Court of Landshut initially, but was "postponed" in late August.

Corsair's acquisition of Endor/Fanatec marks the end of one of the hottest topics in sim racing in 2024 - at least for now. To catch up with the entire story, check out our video on the saga surrounding Fanatec/Endor and Corsair below - or click here to read our article on this topic.


Corsair had recently shown its first sim racing product, a highly-adjustable rig, at gamescom 2024. The company already owned several of Endor's IP since late May as collateral against payments it made to try and stabilize Endor, and in Cologne, all Corsair rigs were equipped with Fanatec gear, and the Corsair booth displayed several Fanatec products as well.

What are your thoughts on Corsair acquiring Endor AG and Fanatec? Let us know in the comments below!
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About author
Yannik Haustein
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

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jongen
jonelsorel said:
From the position of someone standing at the brink of jumping into DD, could you summarize in one sentence what makes Fanatec stand out in a pond with quite a few fish?
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They'll have their own answer, but to me, what beings it together is their ecosystem. Multiple wheels with a quick release makes it a breeze to switch out quickly between races, the ability to plug in a handbrake and a solid sequential/h-pattern shifter directly in the base for no-fuss recognition in games (I used to have a Fanatec base and Thrustmaster pedals, and didn't enjoy that).

Fanatec isn't perfect, but that's why I'm happy to go with them. I'm also more comfortable with a German (and now US) brand than a Chinese one.
 
Slapped
jonelsorel said:
From the position of someone standing at the brink of jumping into DD, could you summarize in one sentence what makes Fanatec stand out in a pond with quite a few fish?
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They have Playstation and X-Box compatibility, and that's pretty much it these days.

If you're on PC then there are a lot of other choices that are at least equal, if not better, for the price.

I'm not criticising Fanatec's products, when they work. I recently tried my brothers original CSL DD 8nm and honestly I found it closely approaching the detail level of feedback I get from my Simucube 2 Pro at the same torque levels. But then having tried both Moza and Simagic I can say the same about them as well.
 
K
Slapped said:
They have Playstation and X-Box compatibility, and that's pretty much it these days.

If you're on PC then there are a lot of other choices that are at least equal, if not better, for the price.

I'm not criticising Fanatec's products, when they work. I recently tried my brothers original CSL DD 8nm and honestly I found it closely approaching the detail level of feedback I get from my Simucube 2 Pro at the same torque levels. But then having tried both Moza and Simagic I can say the same about them as well.
Click to expand...
I never tried product from other companies. In the end, for me, it's simply that I bought my first Fanatec rig in 2020, during the Pandemic, after using a Logitech G27 and a G29 for years. One of the selling points was the fact that I could use a Wheelstand Pro with a Fanatec wheelbase and Fanatec pedals and that's the most convenient solution for me at the moment. Four years later, I've always been satisfied with the products that I bought (bought a new wheel in 2022 and a new wheelbase in 2023). And I always got my stuff on time. So I never felt the need to switch to another company.
 
blueferrari
If you have ever been on the Fanatec Forum, you can see how toxic the culture was, with their arrogant tech support staff and over the top Fan Boy Base. Had to spend a bit of time on there searching for answers, as I have issues with my Podium DD1, McLaren wheel and pedals. Been using Simagic for over a year now and zero issues! And for those who think Fanatec are German, absolute bull ****, all manufactured in China. Hopefully Corsair can sort them out, but they have lost a lot of customers who would never go back.
 
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Metla
Premium
jonelsorel said:
From the position of someone standing at the brink of jumping into DD, could you summarize in one sentence what makes Fanatec stand out in a pond with quite a few fish?
Click to expand...
For me it was options across a wider spectrum of budget.

Since then other manufacturers have come to market that do the same, And just as good if not better in each price bracket.

That said, I have always been happy with the 2 Fanatec wheel bases I have purchased and the 4 or 5 wheels, and the shifter.Not so much the pedals.

But again, I feel there are now better options for me on the market.
 
Wilko Jones
Premium
jonelsorel said:
From the position of someone standing at the brink of jumping into DD, could you summarize in one sentence what makes Fanatec stand out in a pond with quite a few fish?
Click to expand...
For the moment, its compatibility with both consoles and the versatility of their ecosystem. With the recent troubles they have had, and how some of the competition seems to be in full stride, Fanatec is more of a personal choice than a provable advantage. If you like their gear (some of which I do) then its not a bad choice.
 
Slapped
Kingkoenig said:
I never tried product from other companies. In the end, for me, it's simply that I bought my first Fanatec rig in 2020, during the Pandemic, after using a Logitech G27 and a G29 for years. One of the selling points was the fact that I could use a Wheelstand Pro with a Fanatec wheelbase and Fanatec pedals and that's the most convenient solution for me at the moment. Four years later, I've always been satisfied with the products that I bought (bought a new wheel in 2022 and a new wheelbase in 2023). And I always got my stuff on time. So I never felt the need to switch to another company.
Click to expand...
Two and a half years ago, when I decided to become a latecomer to the DD hype, it was going to be Fanatec. However whenever I went to the Fanatec site the stock levels were abysmal - I could get the wheelbase, but not the wheel or the pedals, or wheel and pedals were available but not the wheelbase, and so on, and so on.

That in conjunction with the, even back then, widely reported long delivery dates and slow RMAs, made me say "screw this" and I went for Simucube, Heusinkveld, Ascher and Cube Controls. Yeah it cost a lot more than if I'd bought purely Fanatec, but in retrospect I'm very happy with the direction I went.
 
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TShrimp
jongen said:
They'll have their own answer, but to me, what beings it together is their ecosystem. Multiple wheels with a quick release makes it a breeze to switch out quickly between races, the ability to plug in a handbrake and a solid sequential/h-pattern shifter directly in the base for no-fuss recognition in games (I used to have a Fanatec base and Thrustmaster pedals, and didn't enjoy that).

Fanatec isn't perfect, but that's why I'm happy to go with them. I'm also more comfortable with a German (and now US) brand than a Chinese one.
Click to expand...
I might have said the same if I hadn't had so many issues with Fanatec (hardware and service), and don't think I am the only one. I hope Corsair can establish some trust with the Fanatec brand.
 
jonelsorel
TheRealCeeBee said:
kinda like Apple... "it just works"
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Also like Apple, price (per nm) is more than most competitors' just because (brand).
Also like Apple, made in China, like most others. But China makes has always been making what you tell/pay them to.
Unlike Apple, support seems to suffer a bit lately.
Unlike Apple as well, waiting to get your hands on one takes a bit.
 
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Leynad777
TheRealCeeBee said:
kinda like Apple... "it just works"
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Is this you, Thomas?
I'm using Macs since 25 years and if Fanatec products would work like Macs, Fanatec would be doing fine, but every Fanatec product I owned was just a failure. I even spent hours getting their shitty shifter and handbrake to work, but after every launch they failed again before un- and replugging. Recently I sold the shifter after sitting 4 years on the shelf. It looked very scratched and abused because of it's super soft powder coating, but was working otherwise... in 2020. The buyer complained that the shifter didn't work and stuck in reverse. Turned out that a software update made this horrible USB adapter stop working and the shifter does it's job when plugged into a Fanatec base.

Apple might also try to convince you via updates to upgrade your iPhone or Mac, but they sell new stuff that's usually much better. Fanatec is still selling the same shitty shifter and USB-adapter they sold a decade ago, despite it was a horrible user experience when I bought it, and probably doesn't work if you buy this crap today.
 
Wilko Jones
Premium
Deadjuice97 said:
enjoy iCUE, fanatecs.
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Looking forward to it! If my keyboard can serve as a shift light, then I am 100% cool with that. And if iCue can make some more sense of Fanatec's ITM app, then that is a bonus.


But I seriously doubt Fanatec will be bundled with iCue.
 
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