Although the MiniBrute was the first piece of analog hardware created by Arturia—which had previously exclusively marketed software synthesizers—it generated strong sales.

Following the 2010 NAMM Show, Arturia CEO Frédéric Brun began to receive word that American customers were interested in small, low-cost analog synthesizers, which were not available at the time (British synthesizer-manufacturer, Novation had long stopped production of its small Bass Station synthesizers).

In June 2010, Arturia reached out to synthesizer designer Yves Usson of YuSynth in order to gain insight into the production of analog hardware.

[7] However, at the insistence of hardware designer Yves Usson, Arturia chose to depart somewhat from these vintage synthesizers by using a modern modification of a 12 dB/octave Steiner multimode filter—like those found in rare Steiner-Parker Synthacons—rather than emulating those used in more popular machines, which were often 24 dB/octave to produce a "beefier" effect.

However, like the similar concept employed by Dave Smith Instruments Mopho synthesizer series from 2008, Brute Factor does not require any patching, as it is built into the MiniBrute.

[4] Unlike the DSI Mopho, however, the MiniBrute's 'Brute Factor' circuitry is permanently available, not broken by the connection of an actual external input.

Additionally, Usson has made technical diagrams for the MiniBrute's circuitry available on his website, HackABrute, to encourage users to modify their machines.

[9] The MiniBrute's single oscillator can be set to sawtooth, pulse (modulatable width), triangle, white noise, or any combination of these.

Although its release posed a risk for Arturia in an uncertain market, the units sold well due to their low price point and relatively high quality.

The MicroBrute lacks the MiniBrute's velocity and aftertouch and does use a single-knob-per-function model, but adds an analog step sequencer and a small patch bay.

[14] At the 2016 winter NAMM show, Arturia announced the MatrixBrute, a 3 VCO analog synthesizer based on the MiniBrute.