Review: 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Controller
By Ever since Switch 2 arrived, we’ve been marching a steady parade of 8BitDo gamepads through our testing gauntlet. I already sang praises over their stellar Pro 3, while Ollie tackled the fresh Arcade Stick for Switch + Switch 2 and the wallet-friendly Ultimate 2C. Today I’m inspecting the bigger sibling of that cheaper model: the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless.
Right off the bat, if the Pro 3’s silhouette didn’t mesh with your mitts, this one borrows the gentle, Xbox-style curves you’ve grown comfy with over the years. For some folks the Pro 3’s side-by-side stick layout is a total turn-off, so if that’s been your roadblock, this could be the gamepad you’ve waited for. Internally, though, the hardware story stays almost identical.
In fact, the headline perks echo the Pro 3 beat-for-beat. 8BitDo has been laser-focused on cramming cutting-edge tech into its gear lately, and the Ultimate 2 arrives loaded with 2025’s controller buzz-phrases. TMR sticks—parts that normally send prices skyrocketing—make a welcome appearance, delivering velvety movement thanks to magnetic wizardry that kicks stick-drift to the curb.
The triggers also flaunt fancy Hall-effect magnets, mirroring the Pro 3’s setup. That means top-tier sticks and bumpers form a rock-solid heart. Even the d-pad clones its predecessor: thick, tactile, and proud, clicking cleanly through every cardinal direction.
Sharing the spotlight with its stablemates, the biggest annoyance is still the lack of a Switch 2 wake-up feature. Whispers suggest a fix might be en route—the pad already grabbed a firmware patch to run on Nintendo’s new box—and rival brands have cracked the code. Until then, any controller that forces me off the sofa gets an automatic two-point haircut; it’s not laziness, it’s an expected standard.
If you can swallow that—and somehow survive pressing the console’s power button yourself—there’s precious little else to gripe about. Nit-pick corner: no NFC scanner (irrelevant to me, but deal-breaker for some) and the extra ‘L4 / R4’ shoulder paddles introduce a faint plasticky rattle that ever-so-slightly cheapens the feel.
Otherwise the build radiates quality, landing close to Nintendo’s own Pro Controller 2 and even outdoing it with tactile, grippy rear textures. Those bonus bumpers can feel a hair looser than the main inputs, yet you score four fully mappable buttons in total (two up top, two rear paddles), so it’s a trifling compromise.
You can flip the Hall triggers between normal and hair-trigger modes, and there’s playful RGB illumination in the—admittedly cringe-named—“RGB Fire Rings” circling each stick axis. I’m no rainbow-light evangelist, yet the glow is subtle, customisable, and can be killed outright via 8BitDo’s desktop utility.
Speaking of that app: you’ll need to tether the pad to a PC or Mac for a quick firmware bump before it’ll handshake with Switch 2. Once updated you can remap inputs, tweak dead-zones, and cycle lighting patterns to your heart’s content.
Post-update, just hold Y while you press Power and the dongle will marry straight to the console.
The package includes a monolithic charging dock that I’m weirdly fond of. Like the Pro 3 cradle, it hides the tiny USB-C receiver in a bottom compartment and sports a discreet light bar underneath—perfect mood lighting for late-night sessions.
Battery endurance clocked in around fourteen hours for me, likely stretching a tad longer with RGB disabled. Consider that fair warning: longevity isn’t class-leading, and the LEDs nibble away at playtime.
All told—specs, price ($59.99 / £49.99), features, comfort and aesthetics—everything lines up nicely, even if the cheaper 2C still claims the value crown. Firmware fussiness, slightly wobbly L4/R4 buttons, and middling battery prevent a perfect score, yet the Ultimate 2 remains a premium, tech-stuffed pad that undercuts several competitors.
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The 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless Controller is already out there and available to buy!