Gamers tend to have pretty high demands when it comes to gaming peripherals, and rightfully so; gaming sessions can last for hours on end, and high-quality peripherals can mean the difference between sore body parts and, well, not sore body parts. New gaming peripheral manufacturer Dygma knows this first hand and has created a fantastic new split keyboard that is a game changer for professional gamers.

Called the “Raise”, the split keyboard by Dygma is designed for Esports gamers, and is being touted as “the world’s most advanced gaming keyboard.” While some companies may dispute such a claim, split keyboards are still a relatively new technology, even more so for ones that are dedicated to gaming.

The Raise came in to existence thanks to a now fully-funded Kickstarter campaign, which has a short ten days left before the project closes out. It features a 60 percent keyboard layout, with a shortened space bar on each side of the keyboard and no dedicated arrow keys. In lieu of a lack of certain dedicated keys, the Raise can be programmed in such a way that its keys can have special behaviors depending on if they are tapped once, several times, or held down. For those looking to improve upon an already sturdy platform, both the software and firmware for the keyboard are open source, which will allow for home-made or third-party plugins.

The hardware for the Raise is no slouch either. The split keyboard features RGB lighting for each individual key, as well as an LED strip that circles both segments of the keyboard, along with the wrist rests. The lighting layout can also be customized, with users able to instantly toggle between them with a single key press. Another awesomely cool feature is the ability to hot-swap mechanical switches, something that should impress buyers-remorseful mechanical keyboard owners out there. The Raise comes with Cherry MX or Kailh switches, each of which comes in different switch types: Clicky, Tactile, and Linear. There are still 43 early bird pledges still available for purchase over on the Kickstarter campaign page, which will save backers 30% off the regular cost of the Raise. This brings the price down to roughly $197, with an estimated delivery time of September 2018.

So, thoughts on the new Raise split keyboard from Dygma? Plan on ordering one for yourself? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!