CORE Status Update: April 2025

From Matt Windt, VP of Products:

It feels like just yesterday we were last chatting, but BAM! Two months have zoomed by, packed to the brim with coding wizardry. We've been laser-focused on putting the finishing touches on the epic refactor of our keyboard's core functions.  Over the past two months, a significant milestone has been achieved with the completion of the engineering refactor of our fundamental keyboard functions. This foundational work has paved the way for the next stage of development. 

Our internal Alpha testing phase, which followed engineering completion, provided critical insights into the practical application of our UI and UX modifications. The validation achieved during this phase confirms that we are on track to deliver a more intuitive and effective user experience. Key areas such as lighting customization and preview renders underwent rigorous testing, alongside a comprehensive check across our complete product range, allowing us to resolve identified bugs.

The Alpha process has also directly contributed to the enhancement of our quality assurance procedures. Our team dedicated considerable time to meticulously testing our current and legacy products across various firmware iterations. This thorough testing regimen is paramount to maintaining the stability and reliability our users expect.

We’ve been working behind the scenes to improve the CORE experience, and today we’re excited to share a first look at the updated lighting interface—along with some before-and-after screenshots to show what’s changed.

In the previous version, the UI relied heavily on a horizontal layout, with much of the functionality hidden behind text-style buttons and dropdown menus. While it got the job done, the layout didn’t always align with how users actually interact with lighting effects—and that made customization more cumbersome than it needed to be.

With this update, we’ve rethought the lighting workflow from the ground up. We started by mapping the typical user journey and focused on reducing friction at every step. Menus have been moved to a vertical layout on the left side, improving visibility and navigation. Lighting effects are now displayed as clearly labeled buttons, rather than being buried in a dropdown. We’ve also split base effects and per-key customizations into distinct, easy-to-access categories at the top of the page, so switching between them is more intuitive.

Is it perfect? Not yet—but we believe it’s a big step forward, and it sets the tone for where we’re headed. This update reflects a new design philosophy that prioritizes usability and clarity, and we’re excited to apply that same approach across other sections of CORE in the near future.

Thanks for sticking with us—we can’t wait to show you what’s next.

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Looking ahead, we are in the final sprint before releasing the next iteration to our external Beta community. This collaborative phase is essential for gathering real-world feedback and ensuring the robustness of this CORE revision. 

QA Process / In app screenshot comparison

BEFORE 

AFTER

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From Aaron Smith, Social Media & Community Manager:

Community Game Night  

Our very first Community Night is in the books — and it was a blast!

We had a great turnout and spent the evening diving into REPO and Marvel Rivals. It was awesome getting the chance to kick back, game, and connect with all of you outside of the usual day-to-day.  

Of course, we’re just getting started. I'm excited to announce that our next Community Night is coming this June! 🎉 The full details — including the exact date, time, and what we’ll be playing — will be shared on our social channels next week, so keep an eye out. (And hey, if you have a game you’re dying to see us feature, don’t be shy — we’d love to hear your suggestions!)

Thanks again to everyone who made our first event such a success. We can’t wait to run it back with even more fun, more games, and even more of the community getting involved.