2019 - Year of the Robots
And so ends another year, and as we anticipate 2020 we reflect on 2019 and everything that WAR achieved.
2019 has been the biggest year for WAR since we set up shop in early 2016. We have grown in our skills, production capabilities and grown our customer base in Australia and around the world.
In February some twitter banter between WAR and Maxibon resulted in us creating a mouthwatering custom of the ice cream sandwich variety. We teamed up with Maxibon and Xbox Australia in September to giveaway the Maxibon controller to one lucky fan, and then in October we teamed up with Maxibon once again at PAX AUS 2019. We created three more of the Maxibon controllers which would be the daily prize for their infamous “Smash Zone”, where gamers would go head to head to try and beat the best time for eating a Maxibon. Alex from WAR had a crack at the record but brain-freeze got the best of him 🥶.
In May we had the opportunity to work with Gundam Club Australia to create a new line of official club merchandise including two T-shirts and a hoodie featuring a custom designed “mecha camo” pattern. It has been fantastic to see the club members wearing their new merchandise with pride at events and build meets including AVCON. July had us back in the Artist’s Alley at Adelaide’s local gaming convention, AVCON, for the second year in a row. We had a blast speaking with new customers and returning customers alike and showing off our latest controllers. We also had the pleasure of speaking with local podcast The House of Mario and Hack the Dino about our controllers and the process of creating them. Check the links below to listen to the full interviews.
Later in July we partnered up with the team at KontrollFreak and streamer Flea for a giveaway to celebrate the anniversary of Fortnight’s release. Two lucky fans walked away with a custom Fortnite themed controller that we put together for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
In September we were honoured to work on a surprise “his and hers” set of controllers for a wedding present. The controllers were made to match an illustration of two controllers on the wedding invitation with the bride and groom’s names on each one. Read the full story here. Later in the month, after much anticipation we launched three more donut themed controllers to expand on the success of our first Deluxe Donut PlayStation 4 controller. The donut range is still one of our most popular designs to date and always manages to get peoples’ mouths watering.
After working with local 3D printing guru Ves Designs on prototypes for several months, we launched a brand new product to the market in early October. Custom resin controller stands to suit PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch Pro controllers. The controller stands can be customised to match our controllers making them the perfect way to display WAR controllers. As mentioned, October took us to Melbourne to attend the PAX 2019 convention. We had an absolute blast. From rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of Aussie gaming at the Bethesda “Doom Eternal: Hell on Earth” pre-party and smashing Maxibons, to checking out all of the latest games and tech on the floor. We also gave away some PAX inspired prizes including a PS4 controller and stand with a melted cheese look.
Late november saw WAR launch our most ambitious project to date. The Porter + BB set, inspired by the highly anticipated Death Stranding game. Ending at Midnight, New Year’s Eve the preorder for this elaborate controller bundle has been our most successful yet. In December we wrapped up production on five highly detailed custom controllers commissioned by 2K ANZ, themed after characters from Borderlands 3. The controllers were given out as Christmas presents to some of their lucky streaming partners, and we were lucky enough to receive a special Borderlands bottle of red.
2019 has been an incredible year of growth and firsts for WAR, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the support of our customers and business partners. We can’t wait to get stuck into 2020 and we already have plans for new designs, products and ways to give back to our awesome community.
Let us know what your favourite WAR custom controller from 2019 is and what you would like to see in 2020 in the comments below, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
All the best for 2020,
The WAR Team.
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