Intended to function as a powerful kind of drum machine, the MPC60 drew on design ideas from machines such as the Sequential Circuits Inc. Studio 440 and Linn's own Linn 9000, combining a powerful MIDI sequencer with the ability to sample one's own sounds.
At NAMM in 2012 Akai unveiled a line of controllers named the MPC Renaissance, and MPC Studio which work with MPC Renaissance software on Mac or Windows computers.