This KFC gaming console is real after all, and keeps your chicken warm

Not to be outdone by Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X, fast-food restaurant chain KFC (previously called Kentucky Fried Chicken) has launched its own gaming console. No, really. This time they mean it.

Back in June, a day after the PlayStation 5 reveal, KFC posted a video showing off its new KFConsole on social media, saying the gadget was "equipped with a chicken chamber" featuring a red-hot grill. 

It was a fun prank at the time (in case you didn't know, you really can't grill or fry chicken inside a gaming console), but now it appears KFC has clarified that its gaming console is, in fact, real, but that the gimmick is that it keeps precooked KFC chicken warm. There's no grill or deep fryer inside the KFConsole, but it is a real gaming console that boasts an Intel Nuc 9 minicomputer and a swappable GPU slot.

Intel PR rep Mark Walton unveiled the new chicken-warming KFConsole on Twitter on Tuesday, reassuring confused gamers that the KFConsole is real and not a hoax. The official KFC Gaming Twitter account also released a new video on Tuesday showing off the chicken-warming chamber.

"Yes, it's real," Walton tweeted. "Yes, it's powered by Intel. And yes, it has a chicken warmer." Walton also revealed that the Cooler Master is behind the unusual console. 

"The KFConsole has arrived," Cooler Master's company website said. "Forged from the fires of the KFC ovens and built by Cooler Master from the ground up, there has never been a tastier way to experience the latest titles in stunning 4k, 240fps."

The KFConsole is also VR ready and supports ray tracing. Cooler Master also says the KFConsole offers "smooth and fluid high-frame-rate gameplay at up to 240fps for all games, with support for 240Hz output on 4k displays."

But the real game-changer (so to speak) is the KFConsole's Chicken Chamber, where you can place precooked chicken to stay warm while you game. 

"Never risk letting your chicken go cold again thanks to the patented Chicken Chamber," Cooler Master's description says. "Utilizing the system's natural heat and airflow system you can now focus on your gameplay and enjoy hot, crispy chicken between rounds." 

As of yet, KFC hasn't released any information on where gamers can get their hands on the KFConsole. So hopefully, if you're a KFC fan, this isn't too limited in its release. KFC, Intel, and Cooler Master didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In 2019, KFC released a real game called I Love You Colonel Sanders Dating Simulator Game, which launched on Steam; and KFC encourages gamers to make KFC builds in Minecraft and share them.

KFC has pulled other off-the-wall marketing stunts, including a real KFC fried chicken computer keyboard complete with a chicken drumstick mouse, KFC fried chicken-scented sunscreen, KFC nail polish that tastes like fried chicken and KFC Crocs shoes this year. 

Most recently, KFC announced that the company made a minimovie for the Lifetime channel called A Recipe for Seduction, starring actor Mario Lopez playing a sexy Colonel Sanders.

Originally published on June 14, 2020. Updated with info about the real KFC gaming console, which keeps cooked chicken warm.