PAX East 2013

The ASTRO Crew arrived in Boston greeted by freezing cold snow, but nothing could stop us from enjoying the legendary Penny Arcade Expo East. This is ASTRO’s 7th consecutive PAX event as the official headset, and once again we’ve documented the chaos with daily video recaps, hosted by @LisaMalambri. On the eve of PAX our crew began setting up the ASTRO booth and gearing our partners up with custom speaker tags and headsets. Soon the once empty show floor turned into a kingdom of awesome, teaming with fans, drawn by the lure of free swag and a glimpse at their next favorite game. Let’s kick it off with our first video recap:

Day one in Boston was wicked awesome. PAX was full of some real colorful characters and we snapped photos of the best Cosplayers on the scene; setting them up into teams that battled it out for our Facebook fan’s respect- Who won the fight?   …[drumroll]…

TEAM 2 is victorious! Congratulations and thanks for all the votes! PAX never ceases to amaze with truly creative fans and always impressive cosplay.  Keep up the good work!

At the ASTRO booth, fans experienced ASTRO Audio with premier titles like: Zombie Studio’s upcoming Daylight, Konami’s Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and EA’s Dead Space 3.  Fans also participated in several contests featuring : World of Tanks speaker tags and in-game currency, Kontrol Freek prizes, Wizards of the Coast products and ASTRO headsets. All our game stations were outfitted with Scuf Gaming controllers, and we gave away several controllers to loyal fans. The ASTRO booth acted as a meeting place, chill spot, and general hang out hub for many. Fans and crew alike lounged with friends, met YouTube celebs, or just get caught up on some z’s, @LoLDyrus !

Lisa kicked off day two at PAX with a walk through of Cryptic Studios new game Dungeon & Dragons: Neverwinter, a free to play action MMO. Then Soup followed up with Signal Studios, to get the download on their new free to play MMO Ascend: New Gods. It all ended in the ECA battle arena where Lisa brutally beat down Soup and claimed victory as ultimate host.

For the third and final day of PAX, Lisa got up bright and early to check out Dust 514, another awesome free to play MMO (noticing a trend here?) where you can interact with players from Eve Online. Pretty rad. We ended our game coverage with a special guest, Gold Glove, who discussed Execution Mode and grenade load out in Gears of War: Judgement.

Your PAX experience just wouldn’t be complete without the Pro team meet & greet. We all got to chill in the ASTRO booth and party with our newly sponsored teams, Evil Geniuses and TSM Snapdragon.  The teams were both big hits and we are excited for the upcoming competitions and blossoming partnerships. The ASTRO Booth really is the coolest spot to kick back and enjoy everything that PAX is, and has to offer. Thanks again to all our partners, crew, fans, and new friends for makin’ it happen. What a ride…

Browse our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to catch up on the PAX East madness.

The countdown to PAX Prime has begun… see you in Seattle!

-ASTRO Crew

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PAX East 2013

ASTRO Gaming ~ Booth #668

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, 415 Summer Street in Boston.  March 22-24; Exhibit floor open from 10:00am to 6:00pm each day.

PAX is a three day festival dedicated to gamers and gaming.  From major publishers to indie start-ups, from console to pen-and-paper, web comics and music, all aspects of gamer culture will be on display at the show.  Additional information can be found at http://east.paxsite.com/

ASTRO Gaming is proud to be the Official Headset of PAX for the 7^th consecutive event.  If you’re going to PAX East this year be sure to check out the game stations in the PC Free Play area where there will be over 350 ASTRO A40 and A30 headsets.

We will also feature a number of exciting game demos and activities in our booth, including:

Zombie Studio’s upcoming Daylight, Konami’s Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and EA’s Dead Space 3.  Attendees can also win:  World of Tanks in-game currency; Kontrol Freek prizes, Wizards of the Coast products and even ASTRO Gaming gear!  ASTRO will also feature Pro Team Meet & Greets with team members from Evil Geniuses, Team SoloMid and OpTic Gaming.

ASTRO Gaming headsets and MixAmps will be in action at the following PAX East booths:

• ASTRO Gaming  (Booth #668)
• Ubisoft  (Booth 824 & 836)
• DoubleFine  (Booth 992)
• Square Enix  (Booth 848)
• Deep Silver  (Booth 748)
• Capcom  (Booth 948)
• Trendy Entertainment  (Booth 968)

• Perfect World  (Booth 624)
• Wizards of the Coast  (Booth 562)
• Plastic Piranha  (Booth 479)
• Signal Studios  (Booth 120)
• Bethesda  (Off-Site Community Event)

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The ASTRO Gaming Apparel Collection was designed with the highest regard to quality as you’ve come to expect from everything we develop. Utilizing premium materials and details, we’ve crafted a tactfully versatile line of clothing for your body’s enjoyment. Whether you’re gaming hard, headed to an event, or just straight chillin’; we’ve got you covered (literally). Over the past year we’ve made sure every stitch, color, and fit would be worthy of wearing here at ASTRO HQ in San Francisco and now, with incredible pride, we’d like to offer our Collection to you.

Behind the Scenes

Shot by Enrique Espinoza

The Lookbook

Shot by Curtis Buchanan – (Download)

View the gear for yourself.

-ASTRO Nexy

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Did you really think the world was going to end? Silly conspirators, don’t know what they’re talking about! At ASTRO Gaming, we have no fear, and we know 2012 was just the beginning.

The year started off with a bang as ASTRO Gaming announced their first professional team, Team Eon. Consisting of Optic Gaming, Team EnVyUs, and Team Instinct. It began when EnVyUs launched their first Gears Of War 3 team at the, ASTRO sponsored, HYPEFESTATION tournament. Team Instinct then continued to kill it at the Red Bull Gaming LAN and the very first MLG Columbus Winter Championship.

Hastro and Team EnVyUs also hosted Team Instinct and Optic Gaming at their gaming house for some friendly LAN competition, sponsored by GUNNAR, TWITCH.TV and ASTRO Gaming. Watch our behind the scenes exclusive video of the LAN, here:

We were also honored to become the official communications partner for IGN’s Professional League, the IPL, where pro players compete in Starcraft2 and League Of Legends. The world of eSPORTS has grown immensely since the early days, and the demand for premium audio has never been higher. ASTRO has been reppin’ PRO quality since the beginning so there wasn’t much surprise when Best Buy and GameStop began retailing our products. Stop by, and check out our listening stations to hear what sets ASTRO Gaming apart from the rest.

Got wireless? 2012 was big news for ASTRO as we launched our first wireless headset, the A50. Boasting ASTRO Audio, Dolby Digital 7.1, three EQ presets, an integrated MixAmp, and overall comfort, the A50s have it all. Along with our big announcement we released a radical A50 trailer featuring a track off Krewella’s new EP, PLAY HARD. Check it out yo!

Hmm, summer already? Guess it’s time for some gaming festivals! Out of all the various gaming events, PAX and E3 are two of the most epic and fun shows you’ll ever see. The annual Penny Arcade Expo, PAX, was epic as ever and we partnered with Dark Vale to debut their newest MMO, FORGE at our booth. It was a big hit and we can’t wait to see finished product! E3 was also amazing this year. While at E3, you could find ASTRO gear powering some of our favorite partners like Ubisoft, SEGA, Capcom, Konami, Sega, and THQ, just to name a few.

ASTRO hit the refresh button in 2012 and kicked it up a notch by launching a new event booth, moving to a new office, and premiering a fancy new website. Evolution is a must in the world of gaming, and ASTRO is always aiming to push it one step further, while having some fun doing it.

Assassins Creed III? Uhh, yes please! Ubisoft’s legendary Assassins Creed series launched their third title this year and honored ASTRO with exclusive art for custom speaker tags. Weather you rock the A30s or A40s, there’s AC3 tags for you, keeping you fresh to death with the best.

Shortly after the AC3 editions dropped, ASTRO took a huge leap forward with the 2013 MixAmp Pro. Lose the battery pack, choose your favorite EQ preset, and buckle up. The 2013 A40 audio systems are a game changer, and are now available on ASTRO’s website, at Best Buy, and GameStop. The 2013 A40 Audio System boasts four EQ presets, Dolby Digital 7.1, a new quick disconnect cable system, a new optical cable, and a streaming port for all the hardcore fans.

The year was coming to an end with the season for giving right around the corner. Our 2012 giveaway contest had to be big this year. So we pulled a few strings and got the opportunity to design some custom ASTRO Gaming BESPOKE NIKE AIR FORCE 1′s. Say what!? Given away to one lucky winner, as the only guy on the planet with ASTRO Gaming NIKEs. However, this exclusive deal wasn’t the end for 2012 style points. Upper Playground came also through with a fresh take on new A40 2013 speaker tags. Including my personal favorite, “The Bay” tags. SF, CA!

Overall 2012 was an amazing year for competition, and creativity. We launched new products, new teams, basically new everything, but we couldn’t have done it without all of you, the fans. Thanks to all our loyal “ASTROIDS” out there for choosing ASTRO Gaming and supporting our cause for a premium gaming experience. 2013 has some exciting surprises on the way, so stay tuned in to our ASTRO blog, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I can’t wait to see all of your posts! Also, don’t forget to tell your friends why ASTRO Gaming is the one for you!

-ASTRO Lovehammer

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The staff over at ASTRO Gaming not only creates some of the best video game equipment around, but we also live by the philosophy of “Work Hard, Play Hard.” We’re going back to our roots of sorts of letting you know what games we’ve been getting into recently. Every couple of weeks, we’ll highlight some of our staff and the games they’ve been playing till the wee hours of the night.

Randall – ASTRO Warblade – Community Manager
I’ve delved into the Free2Play world of FireFall. After trying out the game at least year’s PAX Prime (and their ever so plush carpet), it had some interesting concepts to it, with a big focus on competitive gameplay. Last year they also brought onto their staff Morgan “Rhoulette” Romaine, formerly of the FragDolls. With her focusing on bringing FireFall to the eSports audience, I was able to see a lot of great changes made to the PvP (Player Vs. Player) aspect of their game.

Visually the game is stunning as you wander around islands full of mountains and plateaus in a slightly cell-shaded art style. The PvE (Player Vs. Environment) mode is still lacking, as the AI doesn’t seem to respond to players that much. Still, the game is in the early beta stages and has tons of content to come. Red5 Studios has a good thing going for them and I think I’ll enjoy both the PvE and PvP parts of the game.

XBL GT: Warblade

Phil – ASTRO McPhilthy – Customer Support
I spent most of my gaming time during this past week deeply lost in the world of Civilization V. Last weekend two of my friends and I randomly decided to play a game around noon on Saturday, We bunkered in and before we knew it, my roommate had come home…and it was dark. We had spent roughly 9 hours playing the game without noticing it. What’s worse is that it took about 10 minutes of constant reminder that we should probably stop for food for any of us to break away from the game.

There’s just something about a game with a ridiculously deep and intricate set of game mechanics that I find captivating, and completely worth devoting 9-12 hours for a single game. I’ve always stuck by the mantra of buying games for gameplay first and foremost over graphics, and while I’m not saying that the game is ugly by any definition, I am saying that what keeps me coming back to the Civ series is the gameplay.

I mean come on, where else can you wage nuclear war against Gandhi as Cathrine while you build the Eifel Tower in Moscow?

Chris – ASTRO ChChang – Graphic Designer
I love the Mass Effect 3 franchise, and recently have been living bi-curiously through Shepard. ME3 is one of the few games that makes you feel attached to the characters and the game tells its story so well that it keeps you glued to it. Theres so many options, fun action sequences, and romance-able characters, that Mass Effect is one of the few games that I have the patience of going through the single player multiple times. You can play as an infiltrator, have a lesbian romance, and commit genocide with one Shepard or you can play as a soldier, have a straight, but alien romance, and be the savior of all species with another Shepard.

Most modern games are pretty complicated, so I look forward to playing Fez, a pixel platformer. It is not only reminiscent of simpler old school games, but it merges modern puzzle games and 3D platforming games within a 2D environment. As a designer, I also appreciate Polytron’s pixel graphics as an art form and the soundtrack simply sounds awesome. I’ve always complained about the new generation of gamers not appreciating the Asteroids and Mario games of the early days, and I believe Fez will give gamers of this generation a reminder of what games were like back then.

XBL GT: misterninja85

Interested in a Community Gaming Night with the ASTRO Crew? We may be hosting some soon!
Follow the @ASTROGaming Twitter or Like us on Facebook!

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Our own CEO and Founder, Brett Lovelady, was interviewed by Fast Company to pick his brain regarding creating a performance brand in the gaming space where branding was non-existent. Check out the full article here.

Brett Lovelady started Astro Studios in 1994 with the objective to bring more of a consumer product perspective to technology. But after stints at Frog and Lunar, Lovelady wanted to make “anything that wasn’t technology”–toys, soft goods, sporting goods. They began royalty relationships, translating the value of design into real equity.

Their breakthrough came when they designed Nike’s Triax 250 sportswatches, earning $300 million over five years. The studio got involved with Nike’s concept team, designing the company’s first line of golf clubs and eye wear, then began applying those skills to video games with a redesign of Alienware and the Xbox 360, which remains one of their most visible products.

In 2006, Lovelady spun off Astro Gaming to make actual products. In short order, it has become the Rolls Royce of professional gaming gear. The A40 Headphones, which also make up the A40 wireless system, is where professional-grade gaming meets professional-grade design applied to the marketplace—with headphones that mix voice and game sounds in 7.1 surround simulation and connected with a MixAmp digital decoder. [more ...]

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The staff over at ASTRO Gaming not only creates some of the best video game equipment around, but we also live by the philosophy of “Work Hard, Play Hard.”

As a tradition, we interview some of our staff to find out what we’ve been playing lately. If you want to play with us, send over a message online and we can maybe get some games going.

Stan – ASTRO stanimal – Partnership Marketing Manager

Not much really has changed since I’ve last updated, been rocking out WAY too much Battlefield 3 on PC and League of Legends. Kinda going back to my PC gaming roots right now, ya know? BF3 on PC is just something that I can’t kick. Either is rockin’ Ezreal in LoL. Might actually pick up a new champion to wreck with but SKILLSHOTS ARE WAY TOO MUCH FUN.

XBL GT: ASTRO stanimal

Andreas – ASTRO Nexy – Content Coordinator
Today was a very sad day for me. As I write this, I’m burning old photographs and shoveling Haagan Dazs Rocky Road ice cream into my face. This morning I telephoned Enrique and broke it off, for good.

Enrique is, or was, my Starcraft 2 partner. We had the best of times climbing the 2v2 ladder. Like any healthy relationship, we had our differences but always found a way to work through them. He played Protoss. I played Zerg. Our wacky play-styles melded into a lovely bond of destruction and bromance. Though, I had to end it. I’ll miss you Enrique, always and forever.

For today marks a new chapter in my life. Capcom’s Street Fighter x Tekken launched at midnight last night and I was 3rd in line at my local Game Stop. My phone buzzed endlessly with desperate texts from Enrique. I’m sure he pondered my absence for our late night Starcraft rendezvous. His imagination must’ve assumed the worst.

I rushed home, popped my new infatuation into the Xbox and with my trusty fight sticks in-lap, I began training. Yes, I feel guilty betraying my Protoss companion but there is no time for love when on a quest to be the greatest Street Fighter in all the land.

Enrique, if you reading this… I’m sorry.

XBL: The MLG Nexy

Randall – ASTRO Warblade – Community Manager
With the recent announcement of a new SimCity game by Maxis at last week’s GDC, it sparked an interest for me to break out the last game, SimCity 4. I grew up as a fan of the series, playing most of their simulation games (my favorite being SimAnt, where you control a colony of ants taking over a backyard). Maxis created some real life regions, so I’m trying to recreate the Bay Area, and started with Sunnvyvale and Santa Clara, two more suburban cities with high-tech industrial life. My goal is to work in the huge city of San Jose, then start to populate San Francisco, the crown jewel of the Bay Area. These games have always lacked the multiplayer component, but it’s been a good time killer while I ride my train to work.

On the Xbox, I’ve been delving into the story of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, the last chapter of Ezio’s story. Ubisoft recently announced the upcoming title, Assassin’s Creed 3, where the setting changes completely to a American Revolution time period. It will be a breath of fresh air, though I hope they can keep all of the same rich history and iconic landmarks of the era that was shown in Rome and Istanbul.

XBL GT: Warblade

Interested in a Community Gaming Night with the ASTRO Crew? We may be hosting some soon! Follow @ASTROGaming on Twitter or Like us on Facebook and let us know you’re interested!

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The staff over at ASTRO Gaming not only creates some of the best video game equipment around, but we also live by the philosophy of “Work Hard, Play Hard.”

As a tradition, we interview some of our staff to find out what we’ve been playing lately. If you want to play with us, send over a message online and we can maybe get some games going.

Walter – ASTRO Xariun – Event Director
After Hypefestation weekend, I told myself that I had to finally make time for Gears 3. I really enjoyed both of its predecessors and played the beta, so I was sure I was going to enjoy it. Embarrassingly, like many games on my shelf these days, this sat unopened waiting for me to have the time to give it the attention it deserved. After finally cracking it open, I fired up the campaign to re-familiarize myself with the controls before jumping into multiplayer. Epic really stepped up with the storyline on the third installment, and I’ve been cranking away towards completing it.

With completing one of the major storylines in Skyrim and at a perfect stopping point, I decided to take a bit of a break and start actually leveling my character on Star Wars: The Old Republic. All I’m going to say is that there is something really gratifying about tearing through humanoids while wielding dual lightsabers. That alone is a reason to pick this game up.

XBL GT: Xariun

Chris – ChChang – Graphic Designer
Star Wars: The Old Republic is one game that I am genuinely addicted to. I love how its a faster pace MMO, and I actually care about the class stories and decisions I make in-game. I play a level 50 Bounty Hunter Mercenary that I raid or do flashpoints with my guild and I’m loving it so far.

I love cooperative games like SWTOR, but I also enjoy playing competitive games like League of Legends. I find myself going back to LoL because Riot does a good job keeping me entertained with a free to play model and weekly updates of new champions or skins. Another reason I play LoL is because its a game that requires teamwork, microing, good decision making and is just plain fun with friends.

SWTOR: Starkey (Server: Daragon Trails)
LoL: MrNinja03
XBL: MisterNinja85

Phil – ASTRO Philthy – Support Team
Outside of work, I’ve decided that with Mass Effect 3’s launch date quickly approaching, I decided to go back and play through the first two games of the series for old time’s sake.  I started a new game up as a Sentinel on hardcore difficulty, with the extra ability to use an assault rifle as my perk from previous play-throughs.  I plan on keeping a well balanced team of carnage and conflict consisting of Wrex and Garrus for the first, and the Garrus and Grunt for the second.

When I get a bit frustrated from having to drive the Mako and what not I’m leveling a protection paladin in World of Warcraft to relax.  I’ve played WoW on and off as a warrior sense a few months after the game launched and I’ve done a good amount of tanking, so going back and playing as a prot pally is ridiculously easy and fun.

Randall – ASTRO Warblade – Community Manager
My gaming “list of shame” is growing. I tend to play the same games (Gears of War 3, Modern Warfare 3, etc.) while accumulating new games and never finish them. Case in point, I bought Sniper Warrior, Bioshock 2, and Fallout: New Vegas on a great special, and played only about 10 hours of one of those games. I also have neglected to play through Saints Row: The Third and Assassin’s Creed Revelations, both of which are great games. I need to find the time to just spend some major time getting through this list…

XBL GT: Warblade

Interested in a Community Gaming Night with the ASTRO Crew? We may be hosting some soon! Follow @ASTROGaming on Twitter or Like us on Facebook and let us know you’re interested!

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The staff over at ASTRO Gaming not only creates some of the best video game equipment around, but we also live by the philosophy of “Work Hard, Play Hard.” We’re going back to our roots of sorts of letting you know what games we’ve been getting into recently. Every couple of weeks, we’ll highlight some of our staff and the games they’ve been playing till the wee hours of the night.

Randall – ASTRO Warblade – Community Manager
I’ve gone back to playing Gears of War 3 with some bros for some late night gaming sessions. There were some free DLC maps, including a remake of a Gears 1 map, Clocktower. The TDM game type and weapon spawns make this a new experience (as well as Gears3 has dedicated servers, so no more host advantage FTW!).

Skyrim has also been taking up a bunch of my time. I didn’t think I would be into a RPG game on the Xbox, but this game is extremely fun. I’ve been taking on fire breathing dragons with my epic ebony bow, forging my own armor, and of course picking up every herb I walk across. I maybe have played through 40 hours into this game, and not even half way through the story yet…

XBL GT: Warblade

Stan – ASTRO stanimal – Partnership Marketing Manager
Battlefield 3. Something about sniping scrubs with an array of sniper rifles never gets old. When I get bored of that, back to the AEK-971. And yes, I play on PC. After I’m done tearing through a server, I jump onto League of Legends where I’m humbled with every game because I’m absolutely terrible at that game. Rightfully so, I’ve always sucked at RTS or MOBA games but it doesn’t mean I’ll stop playing them. They’re just too much fun and I’m a sucker for skins.

XBL GT: ASTRO stanimal

Andreas – ASTRO Nexy – Content Coordinator
I had an avid-fighting-game buddy visiting me from NYC this week. We decided to burn some time on The King of Fighters 12. As a long time Street Fighter fan, I pick and choose my fighting-games with much care. When mashing my arcade sticks, I prefer that the game I’m playing promotes the core values that is found in traditional 2D fighters and ultimately appeals to the thinking-man. The latest King of Fighters does a wonderful job retaining the core fundamentals I was looking for.

Footsies, spacing, reading your opponent and bread and butter combo’s are the name of the game. These skills, if mastered, will translate into most fighting games on the market today. If you want to learn the proper way to play a fighting-game, KOF will force you to use these classic tactics or be beat into submission.

Watch out though, Xbox Live mode is unplayable. If you don’t have friends… don’t bother.

XBL GT: The MLG Nexy

Corey – ASTRO JamBacula – Dealer Services
Battlefield 3 – What’s not to like? Vehicles, explosions, environmental destructibility, class/team-based warfare, big maps, tons of gear to unlock, awesome graphics and sound etc.

NetFlix – X-Files – Scully!!!!!
[I think Corey has an unhealthy obsession with Scully... Or maybe Mulder... or both... ^W]

XBL GT: ASTRO JamBacula

Interested in a Community Gaming Night with the ASTRO Crew? We may be hosting some soon!
Follow the @ASTROGaming Twitter or Like us on Facebook!

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We over at ASTRO Gaming have gone through a little growth spur and you may have seen some talk and posts by two new members of our team. We wanted to let you know just a little more about our team that’s been working with the community, out at events, or posting some sweet news over our social networks.

This is ASTRO Warblade (^W), the new Community Manager for ASTRO and I’ll be handling much of the Social Media, ASTRO Community Forums, and rockin’ out at the different events we support meeting gamers and our community. I’ve been involved with ASTRO for almost two years working as our Forum Moderator and supporting at events. I come from a long time gaming background playing mainly FPS games, but also have much love for RPGs and the guitar/band genre.  If you want to throw down a challenge, play me in Quake 2.

While I’ll be handling the Community Manager responsibilities, ASTRO stanimal (^S), has shifted roles and will be working with our partner companies and affiliates. He will be making sure that we always have some nice giveaways from the best game developers and studios in the business. You’ll want to make sure you’re following us on Twitter or Facebook for random DLC code giveaways.

Our latest addition is ASTRO Nexy (^N), as our Content Coordinator. He worked at MLG in NYC producing videos and at MLG events as a Video Director of one of the main stage broadcasts. Additionally, he has worked as on-camera talent along side some of the largest gaming personalities. With ASTRO, Nexy will be working with some of the top talent in eSports, making and producing some sweet videos for our site. As a former Pro-Gamer, he is better than you and your friends at video games.

Lastly, ASTRO Xariun  (^X), is still heading up everything events related as our Events Manager. ASTRO’s a big supporter of eSports and  you’ll often find Xariun at the events early getting the booth all setup or supporting the event however he can. You’ll often see some tweets of event pictures and behind the scenes looks show up on our social media pages.

-ASTRO Warblade

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