Endor AG was a German electronics company founded in 1997 headquartered in Landshut,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. The company manufactured and marketed the

sim racing Simulated racing or racing simulation, commonly known as simply sim racing, are the collective terms for racing game software that attempts to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire ...

game peripherals mainly under the name of the Fanatec brand, compatible across racing games. The company filed for bankruptcy in July 2024, with the remaining business assets, including the Fanatec name brand, being bought by gaming peripherals maker

Corsair Gaming Corsair Gaming, Inc. is an American computer peripherals and hardware company headquartered in Milpitas, California. Previously Corsair Components and Corsair Memory, it was incorporated in California in January 1994 as Corsair Microsystems and ...

. Corsair wound up the Endor AG company in September 2024, with no jobs being lost and the Fanatec brand name continuing for the time being.

History

Endor AG was established in October 1997 by German businessman Thomas Jackermeier. As an active player of early

PC game A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-dete ...

s, he very quickly recognised the decisive role that input devices would play in performance, reality, and fun. During the 1990s, Jackermeier argued that the stock of high quality sim racing devices was limited, so he decided to give up his wholesale biking store which was used to finance his educational degree during his time at the

University of Regensburg The University of Regensburg (german: link=no, Universität Regensburg) is a public research university located in the medieval city of Regensburg, Bavaria, a city that is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university was founded on ...

while obtaining his Masters of Business Administration. Following this, he bought AB-Union which later renamed to Endor Ltd. and later the current Endor AG legal name, as well as the establishment of Fanatec, the company's flagship brand. In the beginning, Endor sold a variety of PC peripherals, such as the Game Commander/Alpha Twin

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

and the licensed

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the on ...

for the ''

Command & Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game '' Dune ...

'' franchise. Following the successful release of the Le Mans

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

for PC, Endor began developing the first officially licensed wheel for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

system, Speedster 2. It was marketed directly by

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...

(SCEE) and gained major success. Endor later continued the relationship with SCEE with the development of the Speedster 3 wheel and the °G game controllers. On June 27, 2006, Endor went public and traded over-the-counter on the Munich Stock Exchange, the

Stuttgart Stock Exchange Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Swa ...

and the

Hamburg Stock Exchange The Hamburg Stock Exchange (german: link=yes, Hamburger Börse) is the oldest stock exchange in Germany. It was founded in 1558 in the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg. Four different individual exchanges now exist under its umbrella: the ...

, while also restructured its corporate organization. On March 28, 2024, Endor's board dismissed CEO Thomas Jackermeier, effective at the end of March 30 "fulfilling a key condition set by the lending banks for the extension of the standstill agreement" according to their notice. On May 9, 2024, American manufacturer

intended to acquire Endor AG, which included the Fanatec brand, pending the approval of German regulators. By September 23, 2024, Corsair had acquired the company and all of its assets, and announced Endor AG would be wound up, with no jobs to be lost and the Fanatec brand name to continue.

Products

Endor, through the Fanatec brand, manufactures and markets the sim racing game peripherals, such as racing wheels, shifters, pedals and cockpits, even under license from several automakers, such as BMW,

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

and Porsche. All of products are applicable for most racing games, including the official licensed games based on the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. There are separate championships ...

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

and more.

Sponsorships

Fanatec has since involved in the real-world motorsport competitions in addition of its long-time existence in the virtual racing industry. In July 2018, Fanatec became the official partner for the Formula 1, which sponsored the F1 Esports Series and supplied its gaming peripherals. In January 2021, the

SRO Motorsports Group SRO Motorsports Group (formerly the Stéphane Ratel Organisation) is an international sporting organisation best known for promoting and running a variety of racing events and series, including the Total 24 Hours of Spa, Intercontinental GT Chall ...

named Fanatec as the title sponsor for the GT World Challenge, having previously been the official partner for the SRO E-Sports GT Series in 2020. On May 18, 2023,

Polyphony Digital Polyphony Digital is an internal Japanese first-party video game development studio for PlayStation Studios. Originally a development group within Sony Computer Entertainment known as Polys Entertainment, after the success of '' Gran Turismo'' i ...

, the developer of the ''Gran Turismo'' game series, partnered with Fanatec as the official steering wheel supplier for the 2023

Gran Turismo World Series The Gran Turismo World Series (also referred to as the GTWS) is a series of professional ''Gran Turismo'' world championship esports tournaments, managed directly by Japanese game development studio Polyphony Digital. The championship contains t ...

along with the brand's appearance in the Brand Central which featured in ''

Gran Turismo 7 ''Gran Turismo 7'' is a racing simulation video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The game is the eighth mainline installment in the ''Gran Turismo (series), Gran Turismo'' series. The game was ...

''. Additionally, Fanatec also became the personal sponsor for 2018 FIA-Gran Turismo World Series Nations Cup champion

Igor Fraga Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling ...

to give support for his career in the

2023 Super Formula Lights The 2023 Super Formula Lights Championship was the fourth Super Formula Lights Championship season, after the Japanese Formula 3 Championship was rebranded following the end of the 2019 season. It featured drivers competing in Dallara 320 chass ...

series.

References

{{reflist Corsair Gaming German companies established in 1997 Electronics companies established in 1997 Electronics companies of Germany Companies based in Bavaria 2006 initial public offerings 2024 disestablishments in Germany 2024 mergers and acquisitions