Earlier this week, headset manufacturer Turtle Beach announced a major new eSports partnership with the popular competitive team OpTic Gaming to promote its new Elite Pro Headset and gear at upcoming events. It’s a major partnership that showed how Turtle Beach was more than ready for the next level of pro gamer support.

To get a better idea of what led to the partnership, [a]listdaily talked with Turtle Beach’s communication director, Maclean Marshall, about what it meant for the company, and what it could mean for future eSports partnerships down the road.

Did the growing popularity of eSports prompt Turtle Beach to make a more advanced line of products?

Absolutely. A few years back, as eSports was gaining more and more momentum and popularity, Turtle Beach took a hard look at the audio gear the teams and players were using at the time, with the goal of creating something more uniquely tailored to this specific audience of pro gamers. We spent three years developing the Elite Pro headset, Tactical Audio Controller and accessories, including deeply researching how to build a better headset in terms of both design and performance, garnering feedback from pro players on what they’d like to see in an eSports focused headset. And then we spent nearly the last year refining everything to make sure the Elite Pro delivered on that goal.

What does your partnership with OpTic Gaming mean for eSports partnerships down the road?

Yeah, we’re really excited about our new partnership with OpTic Gaming, and it certainly speaks volumes about the Elite Pro. Hector and the OpTic guys wouldn’t have jumped on board with us if the Elite Pro didn’t meet or exceed their desires. As for more partnerships down the road, it’s something we’re definitely continuing to look at, as well as many other companies (gaming or non-gaming). ESports is big, and as this space continues to grow and become more mainstream, I think we’ll continue to see more teams and players looking for strong partnerships like the one we announced today.

Maclean

Will Turtle Beach products continue to be featured with tournaments?

I sure hope so! One of the things that a lot of people don’t know or sometimes forget is that Turtle Beach has been around for a long time. Last year was our 40th year in business. A decade ago, Turtle Beach was the first to create console gaming headsets which allowed gamers to start talking to one another when playing multiplayer, and today multiplayer has evolved into the world of competitive gaming. Turtle Beach has always been a part of the competitive gaming space, and now with the Elite Pro our hope is that we will see even more teams and players wearing Turtle Beach when they compete.

What are the expected prices and release dates for the Elite Pro gear?

Our expected release timing for the Elite Pro headset and accessories is this summer. We’ll announce more specific availability details in the coming weeks. Price-wise, the Elite Pro Tournament Gaming Headset is $199.99, the Elite Pro Tactical Audio Controller is $199.99, the Elite Pro Tournament Noise-Cancelling Mic is $39.99, and the Elite Pro A.M.P for PS4 and Elite Pro Tactical Audio Adaptor for Xbox One are $39.99 and $59.99 respectively.

The headset can be pre-ordered on the official Turtle Beach page, starting May 24.