8BitDo Launches New Arcade Controller Pro for Serious Fighting Game Players

Last year, 8BitDo shipped its first leverless arcade controller for all the joystick-shunning fighting game enthusiasts, and also the more casual players who might be interested in trying the all-button approach.

Be under no illusion about who the new Arcade Controller Pro is for: serious fighters, in 8BitDo's own words.

Like its predecessor, the Arcade Controller Pro is a rectangular pad that to the uninitiated looks more like something you might use to make electronic music than play fighting games. But those buttons are used to control everything from your inputs to your movement, and 8BitDo has made them smaller, with tighter spacing between them, to make the whole controller easier to access.

The original Arcade Controller featured four programmable buttons, and the Pro adds a fifth to the far left of the pad. 8BitDo says this gives you even more control options while leaving more room for your left hand to move naturally. Also new is a built-in display that shows you your inputs and battery status, while letting you make quick settings adjustments.

Like the Arcade Controller before it, the Pro also has a control panel located above the action buttons, which you can use to switch between connection modes and turn up the volume. It can also be used to activate a tournament lock that prevents accidental inputs during competitive play.

The Arcade Controller Pro features hot-swappable switches and redesigned round button caps that you can install from any angle. You can also swap out the programmable P1-P5 button caps with flat lock caps (five are included) for even more insurance against jabbing a button you didn't mean to in the heat of a fight. The various customization options are designed to give you the perfect setup for how you like to play, and you can go even deeper with 8BitDo's Ultimate Software V2, which lets you customize button mapping and create macros.

If you're playing wired (supported on both Windows and Switch), there's a metal locking mechanism built into the controller that ensures the USB-C cable doesn't come out if you suddenly move it. The cable can be connected from the top or side. As with the previous controller, wireless play is also an option (via a 2.4G connection on PC or Bluetooth for Switch), and you should get around 15 hours of usage with RGB features turned off. The Arcade Controller Pro also comes with a magnetic wrist rest.

There's no word on a release date at the time of writing, with price also still to be confirmed.