By Available July 2025
Accessory firm 8BitDo has announced it is launching a brand-new arcade controller for the Nintendo Switch, and by Jove, it looks absolutely glorious.
Shipping from 15th July 2025 across North America and from 15th August 2025 across Europe with pre-orders commencing today, the controller will come in two variants: an Xbox branded version, and the standard version. It’s the latter we’re interested in here, with 8BitDo stating the controller is “built for professionals, competitive gamers and fans of arcade style controllers”.
It’s said to be “impossibly slim”, measuring in at 1.6cm thick, and is about the same size as an A4 piece of paper. You can play either wirelessly via an included adapter, or connect a cable for minimum lag during tournament play. A rechargable battery is also included for those who wish to play wirelessly.
Since the controller is compatible with both Switch and PC, users can flip between Switch (S-Input) and PC (X-Input) mode, essentially altering the controller’s dynamic layout to suit your chosen platform. Competitive play is also catered for with SOCD (Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions) cleaning and tournament lock.
Finally, pricing is confirmed at €89.99 / £74.99 for the standard controller. The Xbox version is slightly more expensive at €99.99 / £84.99 and comes with optional RBG lighting, which… okay, not a big deal.
If you want to check out the Xbox version, our pals over at Pure Xbox has this covered in the below article:
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What do you make of this new arcade controller from 8BitDo? Will you be picking one up? Let us know with a comment.
Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.