Razer sent me gamer gum and I won an esports tournament

In 2019, Razer unveiled Respawn, a performance-boosting drink designed for gamers, and the company’s answer to G Fuel. Now, the company is taking the Respawn brand a step further with a line of gum. Created in collaboration with 5 Gum, Respawn by 5 is a gamer gum meant to give players that mental boost they need to compete at the highest level. Respawn was kind enough to send me a few packs of their gum so that I could see for myself. 

The three flavors of Respawn by 5 Gum are Tropical Punch, Pomegranate Watermelon, and Cool Mint. Through very serious and well-thought out experiments, I tried each of the three flavors. It should come as no surprise that each of the three flavors taste pretty good. I mean, it is 5 Gum, afterall. I particularly loved the Pomegranate Watermelon flavor, with Cool Minute being my least liked of the three. Despite their colorful packaging, each piece is an identical flat black stick of gum.

Respawn by 5 is a bit lacking in the flavor retention department. Nobody likes a gum that’s delicious for 20 seconds, only for the flavor to quickly escape your taste buds and leave you chomping on a tasteless blob. Respawn by 5 falls victim to this. It’s not nearly as bad as the “take a bite and it’s gone” nature of Dubble Bubble, but also not as long of a lifespan as other gums I’ve had.

Razer markets Respawn gum as increasing mental focus and reaction time. This is likely attributed to the addition of green tea extract. I popped a stick of gum jumping into a late-night gaming session, and It brings me no joy to report that the gamer gum didn’t save me from playing like a bot in Valorant. First-person shooter woes aside, I actually won an esports tournament while stimulated by the effects of Respawn.

Here at Shacknews we host the Stimulus Games, where every weekend, different groups compete in various games, with an equal cash prize for all participants, as our way of giving back during this tough time we’re all living in. The Shack Staff recently participated in an episode of the Stimulus Games, and I went head-to-head with my beloved coworkers in games of Brawlhalla and Rocket League.

When the games had ended, and the points were totaled, I emerged victorious as the Shacknews Stimulus Games champion. My performance could only be attributed to the Tropical Punch Respawn that I had in my system. Thankfully, it's not like niacin and green tea extract are performance-enhancing drugs, but I did appreciate any extra alertness I could get in my play. 

Overall, Respawn by 5 is a pretty tasty gum, which is enough in my book. It’s hard to say if it actually increases focus and reaction times, or if I just fell for the classic placebo effect. Either way, it’s a gum that I’ll be smacking away at casually as I work through the 45 sticks of gum that were delivered to my doorstep. If you’re interested in checking it out for yourself, Razer is selling respawn on its official website now for $27.99 for 10 packs.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_