What you need to know
- OnePlus is killing Fnatic mode in Oxygen OS 11.
- This comes as a result of the end of its partnership with the brand.
- OnePlus's new Pro Gaming Mode will still keep all the features of the old Fnatic mode.
OnePlus is changing how its gaming mode is branded. The company had teamed up with Fnatic, an esports brand, to provide an advanced gaming mode on its smartphones dubbed "Fnatic Mode". "Fnatic Mode optimizes the device CPU, GPU, and RAM for best possible gaming experiences, and blocks notifications from apps, calls, and other distractions while gaming," both companies announced in a shared release made in 2020 when bringing the feature to all OnePlus phones from the 5 and up.
Now, it's removing the branding from OxygenOS 11, renaming the Fnatic Mode to Pro Gaming mode The reason was simple, the partnership between both companies had ended.
OnePlus delivered the following statement to XDA:
OnePlus' partnership with Fnatic has come to its natural and mutual conclusion. Users of OnePlus devices who have enjoyed our Fnatic mode will continue to receive the same features and capabilities but under a new Pro Gaming Mode name. The naming update will transition across devices starting from the 6 series. Fnatic has been a supportive partner to OnePlus, and we look forward to the opportunity to collaborate again in the future.
OnePlus's Fnatic mode was always a branding thing, to begin with, so gamers who enjoyed the feature will still be able to take advantage of it.
This isn't the end of branded partnerships either. OnePlus's next big branding move is with Hasselblad. The company will focus heavily on Hasselblad's camera smarts for the release of its OnePlus 9 later in March. Hopefully, it results in something a little more substantial than how these camera partnerships often go.
