Five years ago, outspoken Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan made a promise to his fans: The company, which makes gaming gear, laptops, bags, and chairs, would make a toaster — which the community was clamoring for.
In 2013, Australian streamer Mark Withers started a Facebook page called "Give us the Razer Toaster," with the idea that it would be funny (and cool) to have an appliance put the Razer logo on bread. The idea got Tan's attention, and the Razer toaster concept achieved peak meme status when the company debuted "Project Breadwinner" in 2016 — as an April Fools' joke.
But Tan, who is known for his off-the-cuff engagement with fans on social media, said he would make the toaster a reality if the fan page got one million likes. He even threw fans a bone: anyone who got a tattoo of the Razer toaster would count as 100,000 likes. In the end, the page gained over 44,000 likes and 12 fans got tattoos — blowing past the goals Tan set. And that's how a dozen people ended up with tattoos of Razer toasters — permanent ink on their bodies in the hopes that they would see a gaming-grade oven for their bread and bagels.
"I'm going to put together my team of designers and engineers," Tan wrote on Facebook on April 29, 2019. "It will take a few years - but I'll be sure to share the progress — and make it a community affair."
But it's been five years, and the toaster has yet to come out — and there has been no further official update.
Tom's Hardware caught up with nine of the people with the culinary appliance tattoos. Five years on from the announcement that the toaster would be made, I wanted to know: how do these people feel about their tattoos? Do they still believe in the Razer toaster? What's it like to be part of a small group that made a meme a reality?
"At Razer, we are always listening to our community," a company spokesperson wrote in response to Tom's Hardware. "Their ideas and interests are integral to shape the high-performance products that they want from us. We have launched many products that were asked for by our fans, including the Razer Naga Left-Handed Edition, the Razer Kraken Kitty line, the Razer Atrox, the Razer Edge and much more. Unfortunately, due to disturbing and inappropriate social media comments (including death threats to our staff), we had to pause regular updates on the Razer Toaster to the community. In the meantime, we continue to work on the Razer Toaster and we will announce it in due time when we are ready. We appreciate the patience from our community."
Here's what the gamers with the Razer tattoos think about the journey.
(These answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity).
No regrets
Depending on who in the group you ask, the Razer toaster tattoos are either reminders of making friends on the internet or an awkward token of a movement that is still waiting for its ultimate prize. Everyone I spoke to still has their tattoos, though many said they're ready for some touch-ups.
Tom Atkin, Norfolk, UK: I have absolutely no regrets. It's been a funny talking point with people. I think I even got some free merch from the Razer store in London because of it.
Mark Withers, Newcastle, Australia: I don't mind that I have a Razer Toaster Tattoo, but it can be a bit awkward to explain to people: 'I got it for a gaming toaster. No, I haven't got it yet.' Mine is on my shoulder so it spends most of its time covered by a shirt sleeve; I imagine for the people who got it in a more visible location that they have a rather ever-present reminder of a promise that is yet to arrive.
Caleb Boyd, North Dakota: I do still have the tattoo, it has held up well, I even had my tattoo artist add some ink that glows under black light.
It's a huge three-inch by three-inch sign of devotion on my calf.
Jacob Norr
Ron Phelps, Indiana: Sometimes when I see Razer's ridiculous crossover products, my inner cynic wants to cover the tattoo, because it feels like they've really lost touch of the whole 'By gamers, for gamers' thing. Don't get me wrong, some of the weird stuff is great. Watching my kiddo flop around in Sneki Snek slippers will always make me smile. Usually, though, it still makes me smile. It's a fun story, a great conversation piece, and everyone has to knowingly dive head-first into a few bad decisions in their life because bad decisions make great stories.
Maria-Anne O'Farrell, Hobart, Australia: I still love my tattoo. If I could go back in time I would make the same decision without hesitation. With or without the end product, it's been a community effort and I am so glad to have been a part of that.
David Fiddler, Australia: It goes above and beyond to say to someone: 'I’ve got one tattoo on my body and it’s a toaster with the Razer logo.' I love the confusion it brings people but then the satisfaction of explaining the story, it’s really poetic.
Jacob Norr, Utah: I absolutely love it. It's a huge three-inch by three-inch sign of devotion on my calf. To the brave willing to ask about it, or if I notice them taking peeks, it brings up a great conversation. Everyone loves the story, until they are let down by the reality of no Razer Toaster after all these years. I assure them it will come in time, even though I myself am not so sure anymore.
Patience is a virtue
For a group of people so excited for a toaster that they chose to get tattoos, the Razer fans I spoke to are surprisingly patient in their wait for it to become real. Some of them are surprised it's taken this long. After all, Microsoft released an Xbox Series X-shaped mini fridge and, beating Razer to the punch, an Xbox Series S-themed toaster that prints the Xbox logo on bread, though those products didn't do anything new in their respective categories.
Tan wrote in 2023 on Facebook that "it could be years, decades away" for Razer to hire, design, and engineer a toaster, and that the company didn't want to simply put out a normal toaster with Razer's logo on it.
The ink-bearers just wish they had an update.
Withers: I expected that we would have received at least an update on a toaster by now. I expect that the Covid pandemic that started in 2019 when the toaster was officially announced has been a hindrance on any sort of progress. I know that Razer had pivoted to face masks for a while and they were focused also on the construction of the [Singapore] HQ, all things that understandably would have a higher priority than a toaster.
Paul Meyer, Wisconsin: I felt that by now they would've made the toaster, yes, but at the same time I'm glad it's not just a rushed product. I think a part of that is the expectations of the toaster itself. I'm happy with a toaster that makes the Razer logo [on bread] and has some underglow. Others have mentioned remote connect ability and Bluetooth and all sorts of things.
Phelps: I expected, if not a toaster, at least some sort of recognition after this long. I've always thought an actual toaster was incredibly silly, and that was always the charm of it. After five years, however, even an email from Min saying "Hey thanks for being a big fan and going the distance" would have taken a bit of the edge off the wait. Don't get me wrong, I would still love an actual functional big stupid over-engineered toaster, but at this point, I've basically given up on getting anything besides the occasional in-joke.
Fiddler: In my personal opinion, I believe the toaster is still coming… Razer is sitting on a multi-million dollar idea where an individual like me can just walk into the kitchen, turn on my toaster and who knows? I originally thought giving it the ability to Steam Link would be pretty kick-ass, put a Raspberry Pi in it and bam, 'Google or Alexa, or... Siri?, start making toast whilst we fight it out in Tekken 8!'
Boyd: I'm honestly not surprised with how long it's taking for the toaster to be made. We did something that the CEO of Razer really didn't believe we'd do, and Razer suddenly had to build a new department and start R&D on a product in an arena they had never even considered being in. I don't really mind that it's been a while; they could have outsourced a cheap toaster and slapped a logo and some LEDs on it, but that wouldn't have been in the Razer spirit.
O'Farrell: Did I expect a toaster by now? Maybe? I don't know much about designing products or anything like that, and Covid was a massive spanner in the works for every industry. The impression that was given was that they wanted to make this amazing toaster themselves and for it to be a game changer, so I can see why they just don't slap their logo on an existing product like with the recent collaborations [in lifestyle products].
Mike Flynn, Virginia: I did expect one far before now. Razer clearly stated that the tattoos were a shortcut to getting the toaster made; a secondary win condition, if you will. And as gamers we rose to the challenge. We achieved the goal, and even surpassed it. But then we weren’t given the promised prize.
Norr: I'm not going to lie, I did expect a Razer Toaster within a couple of years. I knew it was not going to be a highly pushed product, but I did not think we would make it this far with only teasers… Microsoft even put out the Xbox toaster and that set a lot of people off, myself included. I got asked a lot of questions that week.
Silence, death threats, and a single point of contact
When asked if Razer had ever contacted any of them, most members of the group pointed to Withers, who runs the still-active Facebook page and group. Others simply said that no, they had not heard anything.
One thing that both Withers and Atkin said may have contributed to some silence around the project is fans getting what the latter said was "very aggressive" towards Razer and Tan. Withers said that Tan stopped being as involved in the group following death threats.
Tan posted on Facebook about the death threats on Facebook in 2023, writing, "I decided to stop work on it for a while because I was annoyed by the entitlement (and borderline craziness). I actually cancelled quite a lot of work on it and it probably set us back years. I don't owe you guys a timeline on it, so if you're really that bothered to send death threats, seriously, go get a life."
Boyd: All Razer's contact with us is through Mark, the person who started the whole "Give us the Razer Toaster" movement.
I can live with it being some top-secret plan that just gets released one day without warning.
Maria-Anne O'Farrell
Withers: I've spoken with Razer CEO, Min-Liang Tan, a couple times about the Razer Toaster over the years since. He was a part of our Facebook Group, Team Toaster, for a while and was actively engaging with the community. But he stepped back and left after advising he had received a death threat. That's something that we've taken seriously and made clear is not condoned in the community.
The "Give us the Razer Toaster" page wrote shortly after Tan's post that "death threats are unacceptable" and to "Make toast, not war."
Atkin: I understand there were some people online that were very aggressive towards [Razer and Tan] with regards to the toaster. Something that I absolutely disagree with.
Withers says that the CEO made it clear that Razer would not further discuss the toaster until it was ready because of the negativity.
Withers: I can understand the impact the negativity may have on staff who are doing their best to design and create an amazing product, it's counterproductive for sure. Externally though, for the community that haven't been bad eggs, it can be disheartening to not hear anything for a significant period of time.
O'Farrell: And honestly, if what Min says is true about delaying because of toxic fans making threats, I'm down with being petty and putting the project on hold… I just hope that it is still a thing, I can live with it being some top-secret plan that just gets released one day without warning.
The ink link
While the group hasn't heard much from Razer, they're still connected across the globe by their shared tattoos and love of the brand. Most of the ones I spoke to are still in the Facebook group, and they also have a Discord, including a channel just for the 12 of them.
The level of participation definitely seems to vary, with time zones causing issues for some. A few of them, including Withers, O'Farrell, and Norr, are streamers, a common interest that strengthens their bond. Fiddler has made a number of Razer Toaster-themed video projects, including a documentary about the group and deep-faking Tan's face onto celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's body as he bakes bread from scratch.
Atkin: I am still in contact with a few of the core guys, often drop into their streams and occasionally play together. Unfortunately [some of] them being in Australia means only certain games are possible.
Withers: We're still in touch, the majority are a phone call or message away despite us all being from different parts of the world. We have an exclusive role on the Team Toaster Discord that we can ping with updates. I work with some of them on stream content as they are streamers and editors themselves. But there have been a few times where we've collaborated on different projects together to keep the dream alive.
Fiddler: I love telling the story of how on Mark's wedding day, I brought a signed copy of a magazine with Min-Liang Tan's signature on it for him. I won two copies from a competition Razer had, and who better a person to give such a gift?
Norr: Folks that use Facebook keep in touch from what I'm aware of, with the group and whatnot. I don't use Facebook, so I'm a little out of the loop, but when something big comes along, Mark is always including me through Discord DM's. Every now and then some of them will show up to stream and we'll just chat about games and the like. The two that I keep up with most are Mark and Maria, because of Twitch and Discord. We used to make plenty of jokes about the Razer Toaster but now it's more stream and game chat. Gotta keep that support goin'!
O'Farrell: I interact with Tom A. and Mark fairly often on social media and through streaming. Both great guys but also busy with their own cool stuff. Jake and I became pretty close and we're often gaming/streaming together.
Meyer: Indeed, we all are in the Facebook group of course as well as Discord. Still mostly toaster-related news and thoughts, a lot of streaming and playing games together.
Fiddler: All of us that did have the tattoo pulled together for a small documentary.
Flynn: We have a channel in the Razer Toaster discord but I haven’t checked it in ages.
Boyd: There's a channel just for the 12 of us with the tattoos. We don't really talk all that often, just a couple of messages every so often, and we usually do watch parties of RazerCon over Discord.
Keeping the faith (and the tattoos)
None of the nine I spoke to have removed or covered their tattoos. Only one — Phelps — mentioned possibly covering it in the future, though he hasn't made any firm decisions.
They view the tattoos as a symbol of a time where they were part of collective action and a community focused on a gaming brand they love.
Boyd: I love my tattoo. It's a movement, it's a brand I love, and whenever people ask about it I get to tell a great story.
Phelps: The tattoo itself was done by my friend and artist Justin Cox, of Coxart Studios. Right now he is moving his shop… so hopefully nothing happens to any of my ink in the next few months, otherwise I will be a very sad man.
Meyer: I still love my tattoo and it's always fun explaining it to people who notice it.
Norr: Yes, I still have my tattoo. I paid good money for that! It has held up really well, I went full-out for it… Honestly, it still looks the same as it did on day one!
O'Farrell: Still have the tattoo! It's doing OK for what it is, I never decided what colors I wanted to make it. I've got to decide that soon and I'll get it touched up a little as well, from a much better studio this time. Problem is there's so many tattoos I want now and such a limited budget.
Atkin: Still proudly have it, I have recently had more work done near it but not covering it.
Fiddler: I have no intention of getting rid of it. Still becomes a great talking point during conversations, one of those being if I'll ever fill it in.
While many of them would like to see a toaster, it doesn't appear to have hurt their opinions of Razer. They're keeping their eyes out for clues where they can, and at least they have a good story to tell.
Norr: All in all, whether we do get our beloved Razer Toaster or not, it's been great fun along the way and helped me meet some really great people from around the world.
Withers: I do have to note that their most recent April Fool's video had a piece of Razer Toast in it. Not sure if that's an Easter Egg, a hint, or a bit of good banter.
Fiddler: You couldn’t ask for better friends to make along the way with the history we’ve had and the collaborations made along the way.
O'Farrell: Getting the tattoo was part of a new beginning for me and it's wild to think how much time has passed.
Phelps: While I'm less of a fanboy than I was five years ago, I've definitely not given up on Razer, not quite yet. I still think the Naga [gaming mouse] is the greatest thing since sliced bread — I just want that bread to be toasted, and soon.
