I was skeptical, I’ll admit that. I wasn’t surprised that Razer had tried something so audacious, but a self-heating and cooling gaming chair feels like a step too far.
But once I sat it in and felt the cool air gently blowing around my neck in Razer’s hot, stuffy hotel suite at CES 2025, I realized that maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Plenty of the best gaming chairs are comfy, but no amount of luxury pleather or ergonomic support can help if you’re too hot or cold. At least, that’s the idea behind Razer’s latest experimental gaming chair. It’s called Project Arielle.
The chair itself is based on the Razer Fujin Pro, the company’s most high-end adjustable mesh gaming chair. This was already a chair that was meant to keep you cool, thanks to its use of mesh rather than cushions. But now, it has a self-regulating heater built into the back of it. Otherwise known as a positive temperature coefficient, it can run heat up through the frame of the chair. And it actually works. There’s a vent at the top, right near your neck, and then one more near your lower back. I was a bit too tall for it, so I had to slouch to get the full effect.
Even better, you can also use the built-in touch button on the side of the chair to switch to cooling mode. The lighting around the frame transitions from red to blue as the chair switches on its cold air fans. It might have just been the warm room, but I think I enjoyed this even more.
Neither the heating or cooling was too acute, and there were three levels of intensity to try. But even at its highest, the chair was more about maintaining a sense of comfort — not so much cooling you down or heating you up. Color me impressed.
The only real problem is that it’s merely a concept. Razer has a history of showing off interesting experimental technology at shows like CES, most of which never come to fruition.
And this was definitely still a mere “project,” especially with the messy cables running from the bottom of the chair. But I have to admit — this is one Razer concept that I’d love to see become a real product.
