In an era defined by the relentless pursuit of less — smaller devices, tighter footprints, stripped-down interfaces — one solo designer has chosen to build in the opposite direction entirely. The Behemoth V2, a 9.4-pound, 135% mechanical keyboard with an integrated gamepad, has completed its design phase and is approaching launch at a projected $400–$500 price point. It is less a peripheral than a philosophical position: that more, done deliberately, can still be meaningful.
The Behemoth V2: A Maximalist 135% Mechanical Keyboard With Built-In Gamepad
A deliberate rejection of the shrinking-everything trend
Mark
Why build something this large when the entire industry is moving toward compact boards?
Mimi
Because the trend had run its course. There's a point where minimalism becomes dogma, and someone always builds the opposite to prove the dogma wrong. The Behemoth isn't practical in the traditional sense—it's a statement.
Mark
The gamepad integration is interesting. Why not just use a separate controller?
Mimi
Because a separate device is another thing on your desk, another cable, another thing to think about. By integrating it, the designer made it part of the workflow. And by tilting it inward, there's actual thought about how someone would use this in reality.
Mark
The weight—9.4 pounds—that's substantial. Does that serve a purpose or is it just a consequence of the design?
Mimi
It's mostly consequence. The aluminum case is heavy because aluminum is the material choice for durability and aesthetics. But the designer recently added more material to the case to actually reduce costs in manufacturing, which is counterintuitive. More material, lower price.
Mark
Why avoid the group-buy model? That's how custom keyboards usually fund themselves.
Mimi
Group-buys are slow. They require pre-orders, manufacturing delays, shipping delays. Direct sales means the designer controls the timeline and doesn't have to manage hundreds of individual orders spread across months. It's riskier, but it's faster.
Mark
The "rage quit" key seems like a joke. Is it?
Mimi
It's half joke, half genuine utility. It's programmable, so it can do anything—close a game, record a clip, trigger a macro. The rage quit framing is just marketing flavor. But it shows the designer understands the audience: gamers who want personality in their hardware.
Mark
What does a $400-500 keyboard tell us about where the market is heading?
Mimi
That there's an audience willing to pay premium prices for something that's neither practical nor minimal—something that's just unapologetically itself. The market isn't just about function anymore. It's about identity.
The Pulse
- The minimalist keyboard trend has dominated the market for years, but the Behemoth V2 arrives as a deliberate, 9.4-pound counterargument — 136 keys, an integrated 32-key gamepad, and four programmable rotary knobs packed into a single CNC-milled aluminum slab.
- The sheer scale of the device creates real practical tension: at over 24 inches long and nearly 4.2 kg, it demands desk real estate that most modern gaming setups have been specifically engineered to reclaim.
- The designer has addressed some of this friction thoughtfully — the gamepad section tilts inward to preserve mouse movement space, switches are hot-swappable throughout, and a split PCB keeps the external cable count to a single USB-C connection.
- A solo developer working outside the traditional group-buy model is navigating the final manufacturing details alone, with pricing and availability still unconfirmed despite the design phase being complete.
- The project is landing as a premium statement product — priced between $400 and $500, aimed at users who want their keyboard to be a centerpiece rather than a concession to convention.
In an era defined by the relentless pursuit of less — smaller devices, tighter footprints, stripped-down interfaces — one solo designer has chosen to build in the opposite direction entirely. The Behemoth V2, a 9.4-pound, 135% mechanical keyboard with an integrated gamepad, has completed its design phase and is approaching launch at a projected $400–$500 price point. It is less a peripheral than a philosophical position: that more, done deliberately, can still be meaningful.
The keyboard market has spent years chasing minimalism — shrinking layouts, tighter footprints, fewer keys. The Behemoth V2 is the deliberate inverse of that movement. A 135% mechanical keyboard that has just cleared its design phase, it weighs 9.4 pounds, stretches just over 24 inches, and makes no apologies for either.
The core layout is a standard 104-key arrangement, but to its left sits a 32-key gamepad section, tilted inward toward the board's center. That tilt is intentional — it allows the whole assembly to be angled on a desk while still leaving room for mouse movement. Both sections feature hot-swappable switches and full remapping through QMK and VIA firmware, with four programmable rotary knobs above the numpad rounding out the control surface. A novelty 'rage quit' key triggers an audio countdown before executing ALT+F4 — or can be remapped to anything else the user prefers.
The weight comes from the construction: a CNC-milled 6061-T6 aluminum frame with waterjet-cut plates, anodized in black, red, purple, or polished metal, with mix-and-match color options across sections. Internally, dual RP2040 controllers on a split PCB communicate via USB-C, with a single cable running to the computer.
The designer, known as u/Shnarloc on Reddit, is building and selling this solo — bypassing the group-buy model common in the custom keyboard world in favor of direct sales. Final pricing and availability are still being worked out, but the expected range of $400–$500 positions the Behemoth V2 as something more than a tool: a statement that the shrinking-everything era doesn't have to be the only story being told.
The keyboard market has spent the last few years chasing minimalism. Designers strip away keys, shrink footprints, carve out space for mouse movement. It's a sensible trend. But it was only a matter of time before someone built the opposite thing entirely.
The Behemoth V2 is that opposite. It's a 135% mechanical keyboard—meaning it's roughly 35% larger than a standard full-size board—and it has just completed its design phase ahead of an anticipated launch sometime in the coming months. The device weighs 9.4 pounds and measures just over 24 inches long. It is, by any reasonable measure, a statement piece.
What makes it more than just a novelty is what the designer has packed into that footprint. The keyboard contains 104 standard keys arranged in a conventional layout, but to the left of the main typing section sits a 32-key gamepad, tilted inward toward the center of the board. This positioning is deliberate—it allows users to angle the entire keyboard and still maintain adequate desk space for mouse movement, which somewhat defeats the purpose of building something this large, but the thinking is there. The gamepad keys are hot-swappable, meaning users can swap out individual switches without soldering. The main keyboard section offers the same flexibility, along with full remapping through VIA firmware and four programmable rotary knobs positioned above the numpad.
The construction is where the weight comes from. The frame is CNC-milled from 6061-T6 aluminum, with the top plate and gamepad plate cut via waterjet. The designer recently adjusted the design to use more material in the case, a counterintuitive choice made to reduce manufacturing costs. The entire assembly is anodized and available in multiple color options—black, red, purple, and polished metal—with the ability to mix and match across the frame, top plate, and gamepad plate. Everything is held together with stainless steel hex head fasteners and magnetic feet.
Under the hood, the Behemoth runs dual RP2040 controllers on a split PCB design, meaning the two halves communicate internally via USB-C, with only a single USB-C cable connecting to the computer. The firmware is fully remappable through QMK and VIA, supporting N-key rollover and RGB lighting with effects. There's also a novelty feature called the "rage quit" key—a programmable button that, when pressed, triggers a user-loaded audio countdown before executing ALT+F4 to close the game. It can be remapped to anything, including game clip recording.
The designer, who goes by u/Shnarloc on Reddit, is working solo on the project and has decided against the typical group-buy model that dominates the custom keyboard space. Instead, the plan is direct sales, though final pricing and availability remain unconfirmed. The expected price range sits between $400 and $500, positioning it as a premium product for users who view their keyboard as more than a tool—as a centerpiece, a conversation starter, a deliberate rejection of the shrinking-everything trend that has dominated the market for the past half-decade.
Notable Quotes
The designer recently adjusted the design to use more material in the case to reduce manufacturing costs— Design update via u/Shnarloc on Reddit
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