You'll know Razer for their slick gaming chairs, headsets with an earful of charm, and much more besides. Now, the company revealed during CES 2026 that it's taking its black-green theme to the fresh frontier of… AI assistants.
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A concept model of Project Ava was first unveiled during CES last year, billing the AI assistant as an esports coach (or, as Jacob astutely put it then, a 'backseat gaming AI bot'). This year, it's venturing from the realm of software and acquiring a physical form, with Razer announcing plans to bring Project Ava to a desk near you as an animated, holographic 'desk companion'.
The desk companion version of Project Ava looks not unlike the sort of sci-fi container where many a wayward life form has inevitably found itself. Test tube looks aside, the headline act of this hardware is the holographic display in the middle. The device also deploys an HD camera with eye-tracking, plus a far-field mic to fulfill its coaching duties.
PC Vision Mode means the device can even look at your screen in order to give real-time advice—but this version of Project Ava won't just be offering questionable gaming pointers.
Razer instead bills the desk companion as "a true digital partner designed to support every facet of modern life." In other words, Project Ava is now both a backseat gaming bot as well as an especially fancy personal digital assistant.
Razer goes on to say, "Ava combines intelligence with personality for an experience that feels natural, engaging, and personal." That personal touch comes in the form of, as you may have already guessed, animated holographic avatars on that luscious little screen.
I've yet to see Project Ava go full 'tiny anime woman trapped in a cyber prison,' but this desk companion will offer a selection of live looks. These include Razer's original characters Kira and Zane, as well as avatars representing 'esports legends'.
You can also adjust the tenor of Ava's avatar, choosing from "bold and sassy, to calm and friendly." These holograms are only about 5.5 inches tall, but deploy eye-tracking, facial animations, and lip syncing to get their proffered 'personality' across.
For some (i.e. me) that's creepy enough, but Razer also touts Project Ava's adaptive AI. This means that not only does the holographic desk companion remember your previously set preferences and can help assist with organising daily tasks, but it can even offer "wardrobe tips". I'm not sure I'm ready for the shame of a tiny animated woman yelling, "You're not going out looking like that, are you?"
Project Ava is expected to offer everything from recipe tips to gaming strats in the second half of 2026. If you're a US-based gamer and the idea of Project Ava spying on your screen in order to give you gaming advice doesn't immediately give you the willies, you can reserve your own desk companion for $20 right now.
