Varmilo releases mildly cursed looking 'foot keyboard' designed to give you an edge in competitive games

The Varmilo 'foot keyboard' is seen floating beside a product illustration that demonstrates the peripherals intended use.

(Image credit: Varmilo)

Any day I cast my gaze upon a cursed bit of hardware is a good day, in my book. By that metric, today is off to a heel-stomping start, thanks to Varmilo's line of wireless 'Foot Keyboards'.

I'll give you a moment to process that. Alright? Now, let me explain. The cursed keebs in question are a line of wireless peripherals designed to give you an esports edge (via Videocardz). How, you may be asking? By relegating key button presses to the domain of limbs you otherwise aren't using to game… is this what they call 'maximising efficiency'?

So, picture this: rather than stretching your palms to reload or sprint, you could bind those commands to one of these under-the-desk peripherals instead. These cursed keebs come in three and four key versions, so the world's your oyster—or rather, foot pedal.

Regardless of the button layout you go for, each 'key' is an ABS cap 25 mm in diameter, and features a Cherry MX Silent Black switch under the hood (or should that be 'under hoof'?). Each one requires an actuation force of at least 60 g, bottoming out at 85 g, meaning you're unlikely to accidentally press these by just resting your tootsies on top. The entire unit itself weighs about 1 kg as well, so it's unlikely to shift around under your toe taps.

With a polling rate of 1000 Hz and support for a 2.4 GHz connection, this bit of kit from Varmilo should be reasonably responsive. You can also connect wirelessly over Bluetooth, or plug in for a wired connection if you'd rather. If you'd like to toe tap revolution your way through your local competitive scene, you can pick up one of Varmilo's feet keyboards for about $50 (or £39).

Two of the MSI liberator foot pedal peripherals float in a blue-pink gradient void. The peripheral on the left is blue, while the peripheral on the right is red. — (Image credit: MSI)

Now, for all of my wide-eyed wonder, it turns out gaming peripherals that look a bit like a foot pedal for a sewing machine or indeed your bass guitar are nothing new. Outside of racing sim setups, it turns out MSI offers the Liberator line of foot pedals for gaming. It's interesting to note that both of these products are pitched as offering an edge in competitive games to able-bodied gamers, rather than as an accessible controller or peripheral.

At any rate, the Liberator is neat as it offers a more cradle-esque form factor, placing its buttons like bumpers you can nudge into, as opposed to the Varmilo device's leverless fightpad look. The GP12 model from MSI is particularly interesting too as it allows you to connect up to four units together for a total of 12 remappable buttons within toe's reach… though at that point, why not just source a dance mat?

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Jess has been writing about games for over ten years, spending the last seven working on print publications PLAY and Official PlayStation Magazine. When she’s not writing about all things hardware here, she’s getting cosy with a horror classic, ranting about a cult hit to a captive audience, or tinkering with some tabletop nonsense.

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