Behemoth V2 brings a massive 135% mechanical keyboard back to gaming setups
Behemoth V2 pairs a 104-key board with a 32-key gamepad and rotary knobs, pitching a 135% layout at buyers who still want more desk-bound control.
The Behemoth V2 landed as a 135% mechanical gaming keyboard at a moment when most of the hobby keeps shrinking. TechPowerUp’s July 17 piece framed it as the opposite of the compact-board wave, and the sizing tells the story: a standard 104-key layout is joined by a built-in 32-key gamepad, plus programmable rotary knobs.
That makes the buyer question obvious. Is this an absurd desk hog, or a genuinely practical layout for people who still want dedicated controls for macros, navigation, and function access without living on layers? The answer depends on how you use a keyboard. If you spend your day in MMOs, spreadsheets, or multi-app workflows, a board like this can replace the need for a separate keypad and keep the controls in one place. If you want mouse room first and foremost, the Behemoth V2 is the kind of chassis that asks for a bigger mat and a more deliberate setup.
TechPowerUp’s framing made the pitch clear: the Behemoth V2 is not trying to blend in with 65% and 75% boards. It is a counterpoint to the recent push toward smaller gaming and productivity keyboards, built for users who prefer a traditional footprint and do not want to trade away dedicated keys for desk space. The name fits the hardware. This is not a subtle slab meant to disappear next to a monitor arm.
Other details fill out the picture. XiaomiToday said on July 18 that the Behemoth V2 was getting closer to release, while WhatPSU put expected launch pricing around $400 to $500 and said no group-buy was planned. That last point matters in this hobby, because it suggests a consumer product rather than a long pre-order project with all the usual delays and markup anxiety.
The build also sounds appropriately excessive. A r/MechanicalKeyboards update described the Behemoth 135% board at about 9.4 pounds, built from 6061-T6 aluminum, and a later update said the frame had been changed to bring it to roughly 10 pounds. By the time TechPowerUp posted the headline to X at 1:08 a.m. on July 18, the message was already baked in: this is a desktop anchor for people who still want a full-size board to feel like a full-size board.
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