In a nutshell, Finalmouse is back on the map again. The company that essentially brought the ‘Ultralight Gaming Mouse’ to life has unveiled a teaser which will be the final ULX mouse. They have named it Frostlord, which is spot on. Only 10,000 copies will be made and it will be open for sale from December 15 at 11:00 AM PT. The shipping will supposedly happen on the next day. They say, “long live the king.” But if you check out the comments of people seeing the announcement on Twitter, you will find a different picture. Gamers are not only excited—they are really mad. And one keyboard is the reason.

You read it right. At the same time when Finalmouse is launching a new limited edition mouse, a huge part of their community is actually talking a lot about another product: The Centerpiece keyboard. Long ago, it was announced, people put money on it, and still, they are waiting. The Frostlord tweet’s comment section looks like a support group of unhappy keyboard customers. One user called Perfect was quite open about his emotions: “Ship the keyboard and only then advertise other products; otherwise, he said, “Disrespectful trash company tbh. NEVER AGAIN”. Ouch. That was truly a very strong opinion, and it has been repeated everywhere. Garon Johnson is like, “Where’s my keyboard?” King Kilo jokingly says, “So where’s my keyboard OG?” It’s just like a chorus of ‘WHERE IS MY GODDAMN KEYBOARD!!’ coming from PetroBOOMIN.

This whole scenario creates a rather unusual background. While Finalmouse is trying to capture the people’s excitement for a bright new (well, somewhat new) mouse, the gamers are not going to take it. They think the company is waiting before making good on its last promise and cashing in on the next marketing opportunity. Thomas pointed out the irony: “Wow another recast of the same mouse. Great product innovation. Still holding up the keyboard?… Perhaps focus on deliverables before introducing ‘new’ products.” And the guy is absolutely spot on. A good number of replies are actually from people wanting to know the look of the Frostlord. MyCow says, “Show the colors and stop talking. This isn’t a movie trailer.” The company is trying to be all mysterious, but the audience is just… over it.

This whole issue is a clear sign of the love-hate relationship that the gaming peripheral market has with Finalmouse. They produce mice that are light as a feather, great in design and extremely costly so they can sell in the market. Competitors like Endgame Gear (referenced by the comment from A GMN Ape) have come to the fore, but still, Finalmouse has a dedicated fan base. Their drops are sold out in minutes. But their business strategy—super limited releases, long pre-order waits, and cryptic marketing—keeps people upset. They are like the Supreme of the gaming mice market. You have to be fast, lucky, and patient. Sometimes too patient.

If one were to analyze the replies, the broadest observation would be that some are still very much excited about the mouse. Donatello expresses his reaction with ‘THIS IS TUFF’. Others wish it to be made in the shape of the popular Starlight model. But the most vociferous crowd is still the one that talks about the undelivered keyboard. Tugg Speedman captured the waiting game anxiety very accurately in his reply to another user: “I mean this mouse drop is just another color change. The keyboard is more interesting. I am also waiting. It’s been about a year since the order date. Just hoping the QC is good.” That is the fear, isn’t it? You wait a long time, and then the quality control is poor?

So what about the Frostlord ULX? It’s the name and the ‘last ULX’ label that lead to think that this is the last colorway or special edition of their ULX line. 10,000 units might seem to be a lot for a Finalmouse drop, but it will still be gone very fast. Ships the next day is a really strong claim, and indeed, taking into consideration the keyboard controversy, players are going to be skeptical. The tweet itself is a typical Finalmouse: brief, theatrical, and lacking any real information. They are into the hype.

The mouse is not the main point of this situation, but the broken trust. A brand that is both premium and exclusive is a double-edged sword; failing to meet deadlines and changing focus to new products before old orders are fulfilled is an unfavourable image. It rapidly turns hype into resentment. The remark from alter reflects it all: “Stop advertising, start producing and shipping.” It’s not a difficult request, especially for fans on PlayStation and Xbox who expect timely releases.