Razer Develops New Mechanical Switch for Gaming Keyboards

The two new switch designs are available exclusively in Razer BlackWidow keyboards.

Razer is cutting out the mechanical middle man, and will be using proprietary switches in its BlackWidow gaming keyboards.

Starting today, two Razer-designed switches will be available in the BlackWidow family of input devices — a green “clicky” switch, and an orange “silent” switch. The two models are both tested for a 60 million keystroke lifetime, and promise to require less force to actuate.

“Instead of focusing solely on typing comfort, as traditional mechanical switches have done, we had to completely rethink the conventional approach behind the actuation and reset points of mechanical switches in order to fine-tune them for gaming,” said Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan. “Our engineers’ focus for the specification was on speed, accuracy and durability to bring the unfair advantage to gamers worldwide. The new switch makes the most popular gaming keyboard in the world even better.”

While the switches are being manufactured by a third party, Razer has “quality assurance experts on the production floor to make sure each switch meticulously follows the design blueprint and specifications defined by Razer.”

The stats on the new switches are impressive. Both require 50g or less actuation force to achieve a keystroke (the silent orange switch needs only 45g), and the actuation point is under 2.0mm from the starting position. Razer compares these stats to “standard” mechanical switches, although it’s worth pointing out that competitors like Logitech aren’t using whatever the standard switch is.

If you’re on the hunt for a new mechanical gaming keyboard, the new BlackWidow models are available today, starting at $139.99.