As part of CES 2025, peripheral manufacturer Hyperkin revealed a new version of The Competitor, which is its wired pro-style gamepad for Xbox consoles and PC. It’s geared towards competitive-minded players (hence, the name) and it shares similarities to the PlayStation 5’s DualSense, which we consider one of the best controllers for PC as well.
Like the previous model of The Competitor, a major design shift from traditional Xbox controllers is the stick placement – the symmetrical positioning of the analog sticks mimics what you find on PlayStation controllers. Whether or not that’s a good thing will boil down to preference, but a notable improvement over the stock Xbox gamepad is that the sticks are Hall Effect as opposed to regular analog.
Hall Effect parts are magnetic and create a consistent resistance, but more importantly, they have better durability and aren’t prone to stick drift (which can happen on the Switch Joy-Con and PlayStation 5 DualSense). The triggers are also Hall Effect to help with precision when applying pressure. These are features found on the previous iteration of The Competitor, so the big change is in the ergonomics which draws from the DualSense, especially in the white-black color scheme.
The directional pad clearly mimics its PlayStation inspiration with each direction being separated and the buttons pointed inward. Both the triggers and the bumpers are shaped accordingly and there’s a mic mute button at the lower-center as well. It also comes with two programmable back buttons, which is a major feature of third-party competitive controllers and high-end first-party offerings like the DualSense Edge and Xbox Elite Series 2.
Hyperkin has historically been known for its catalog of retro gaming accessories and systems, but has also been making peripherals for current platforms. When it comes to Xbox, Hyperkin made a splash by bringing back The Duke (the original Xbox controller) and The DuchesS (the Xbox S controller) for modern systems. Currently, Hyperkin has yet to reveal a release date or price for the updated version of The Competitor.
We’ll be getting our hands on this new model of The Competitor from Hyperkin at CES 2025, so stay tuned for our impressions. If you’re looking to upgrade your gamepad, be sure to check out our current roundup of the best controllers for Xbox, PC, and PS5. For all the important gaming news at the biggest tech convention of the year, be sure to check out our roundup of everything you need to know about CES 2025.
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