Elgato essentially created the streaming hardware category. Before Elgato, capturing gameplay for YouTube or Twitch meant cobbling together expensive broadcast equipment. The Elgato Game Capture HD, launched in 2012, was the first affordable external capture card designed specifically for gamers, and it became the standard tool for a generation of content creators.
The company was founded in Munich in 2010 and acquired by Corsair in 2018. Under Corsair’s ownership, Elgato expanded from capture cards into a full ecosystem of streaming products: key lights, green screens, camera arms, Stream Decks, and audio interfaces — basically everything a streamer needs except the PC itself.
The Stream Deck deserves special mention. It’s a customizable button panel with LCD keys that display icons for whatever function you assign. Streamers use it to switch scenes, trigger sound effects, and manage chat. But it’s found a massive audience beyond streaming — video editors, musicians, programmers, and business professionals use Stream Decks to automate workflows. The software ecosystem around it, with hundreds of community-built plugins, turned a niche streaming tool into a universal productivity device.
Elgato’s design philosophy stands out in a market full of garish gaming peripherals. Their products are clean, minimal, and well-built — no RGB rainbows or aggressive angles. The Wave microphones, Facecam, and Prompter (a teleprompter attachment for webcams) all follow this understated aesthetic. It’s hardware for creators who want their tools to look professional, not like gaming accessories.
