Razer Made Its AI Gaming Assistant Right into a Waifu Hologram

Razer is at all times good for a “wait, what did I just see?” second at CES, and this yr’s conference isn’t any totally different. At CES 2026, Razer confirmed off a desktop hologram meant to embody its gaming assistant, referred to as Project Ava.

That’s proper, Project Ava isn’t simply an AI chatbot that gawks at your display and tells you easy methods to play video games; it’s now a hologram that sits in your desk and tells you easy methods to play video games. The entire factor may be very Razer, to be sincere, proper all the way down to the customization choices. The avatar contained in the hologram chamber will be preselected from a couple of choices, together with “exclusive Razer characters” like Kira, which is the waifu-coded avatar you see right here. There’s additionally a male choice known as Zane, although I don’t know what Zane’s deal is or if he’s something like Billy Zane.

There are different choices, too, which embrace the inexperienced blob that represented Project Ava in its authentic iteration and likewise “esports legends,” although I’m undecided which “legends” that features. I requested Razer if there have been plans to let individuals customise their avatars sooner or later, and it appears that evidently’s one thing they’ve thought of, however for now, you need to take what Razer offers you.

The addition of a digital camera on the hologram chamber adjustments the Project Ava sport a bit. While Ava was beforehand confined to only watching what was taking place in your display, Razer’s AI can now watch you. The firm says that the power to see your actual self opens up new prospects like… serving to you type garments? Theoretically, it may make Project Ava really feel extra companion-like, too, and I suppose it may assist you to examine when you’ve got any residual Cheeto mud caught in your face when you’re gaming or one thing. As you possibly can see, Project Ava hooks into your machine and is powered that approach, although I don’t know what the precise energy calls for are.

I bought an opportunity to talk with the hologram Ava a bit, and the expertise is as wonky as chatting with every other AI chatbot on the market. Sometimes it answered my questions whereas I used to be taking part in a Battlefield demo, and typically it went off on tangents that had nothing to do with what I used to be doing. The noise contained in the room didn’t assist, however usually talking, that is simply the way in which AI chatbot-infused voice assistants are going proper now.

The hologram model of Project Ava is seemingly operating on xAI’s Grok mannequin (the one that you could interface with on X), so I’ll allow you to make inferences there on what the expertise may probably be like. Clearly, Razer sees the hologram-ification of Ava as an enlargement on what the gaming assistant can do, and is pitching the system as one thing that may do extra normal chatbot stuff, like examine your e-mail or give you options on what to eat for dinner.

The wild half is that Razer looks like it really intends to promote this desktop hologram and is projecting a launch date within the second half of 2026. There’s no worth proper now, however for those who’re itching for a hologram in your desk, then you possibly can put down a $20 refundable deposit.

Gizmodo is on the bottom in Las Vegas all week bringing you every thing you must know concerning the tech unveiled at CES 2026. You can observe our CES stay weblog right here and discover all our protection right here.