8BitDo’s new all-button arcade controller is just 16mm thick

8BitDo has slimmed down its arcade instrumentality by replacing its joystick with buttons. | Image: 8BitDo

Four years aft the institution released its archetypal wireless arcade-style controller, 8BitDo is debuting a caller mentation that’s astir one-third arsenic heavy arsenic the original. Its caller Arcade Controller managed to slim down by ditching the original’s joystick and focusing connected lone buttons successful a unsocial layout. Often referred to arsenic a leverless controller, oregon Hitbox aft the institution that helped popularize this style, 8BitDo’s includes a dynamic fastener layout that swaps labels astatine the crook of a dial.

The caller 8BitDo Arcade Controller is available for preorder starting contiguous for $89.99 and is expected to officially merchandise connected July 15th, 2025. The modular mentation is compatible with the Nintendo Switch and Windows PCs. 8BitDo besides has an further all-black mentation with adjustable glowing RGB accents that’s designed for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and Windows, but it’s slightly much costly astatine $99.99. However, some are overmuch cheaper than competitors’ offerings, including Razer’s $300 Kitsune.

Leverless controllers whitethorn look counterintuitive to those who’ve spent their lives gaming with analog joysticks oregon four-way directional pads, but they’re becoming fashionable among fans of warring games wherever lightning-fast absorption times tin sometimes beryllium a deciding origin successful who wins. Although it seems miniscule, playing with lone buttons tin destruct the clip it takes to determination a joystick until an input is registered by a game, perchance giving a subordinate a competitory advantage. At the aforesaid time, trying to purpose successful a fast-paced FPS crippled utilizing 4 buttons volition astir apt enactment you astatine a disadvantage, truthful this controller benignant isn’t for everyone.

Measuring successful astatine 16mm thick, 8BitDo’s caller Arcade Controller connects to the Switch implicit Bluetooth and to PCs utilizing an included 2.4GHz USB dongle. For minimal latency, it tin besides link to either with a USB-C cable. Its 1,000mAh rechargeable artillery is capable for up to 20 hours of gameplay erstwhile utilizing a wireless connection.

The controller’s 16 enactment buttons usage Kailh Wizard low-profile mechanical switches retired of the box, but you tin swap those with alternate switches if you similar a antithetic feel. Four of the buttons, labeled P1 done P4, are programmable and utilize bean-shaped fastener caps to differentiate their feel. They tin besides beryllium swapped retired with included lie-flat alternatives, making them adjacent easier to distinguish.

A toggle power flips the controller’s fastener layout betwixt an S-Input mode for the Switch and X-Input mode for PCs, which besides swaps the illuminated labels automatically. And arsenic with galore of 8BitDo’s caller gamepad releases, its caller Arcade Controller supports the company’s Ultimate Software, which lets you customize the fastener mappings oregon marque analyzable macros that tin beryllium assigned to its 4 programmable buttons.

The 8BitDo Arcade Controller for Xbox besides has a fewer cardinal differences (besides the all-black decorativeness and glowing RGB accent lighting astir 12 of its buttons). There’s nary Bluetooth connectivity — lone 2.4GHz oregon a USB cablegram — and the artillery is rather a spot larger astatine 3,000mAh, which bumps wireless playtime to 20 hours with lighting connected oregon 40 with it off.

Only P1 and P2 tin beryllium reprogrammed. It besides doesn’t connection the quality to power the layout of its buttons. Instead, the gamepad’s dial controls volume, which volition assistance if you usage the included headphone jack for streaming gameplay and chat audio to a wired headset.