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as part of CES 2025Peripheral manufacturer Hyperkin unveiled a new version of The Competitor, a wired pro-style gamepad for Xbox consoles and PC. It’s aimed at competitive gamers (hence the name) and has similarities. PlayStation 5’s DualSenseone of which we consider The best controllers for PC as well
Similar to The Competitor’s predecessor, a major design change from traditional Xbox controllers is the placement of the sticks: the symmetrical placement of the analog sticks mimics what you find on PlayStation controllers. Whether that’s a good thing or not will come down to preference, but the noticeable improvement over the Xbox gamepad is that the sticks are Hall Effect as opposed to traditional analog.
The Hall Effect pieces are magnetic and create consistent resistance, but more importantly, they have better durability and are less prone to drifting (which can happen with 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 in the previous version of The Competitor, so the big change is in the ergonomics coming out of the DualSense, especially the black and white color scheme.
The directional pad clearly mimics its PlayStation inspiration with each direction separated and the buttons facing inwards. Both triggers and bumpers are shaped accordingly and there’s also a microphone mute button in the bottom center. It also includes two programmable rear buttons, a key feature of competing third-party controllers and premium premium 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 today’s platforms. As for the Xbox, Hyperkin made a splash by bringing it back The Duke (Original Xbox Controller) and DuchesS (Xbox S Controller) for modern systems. At this time, 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 Hyperkin’s The Competitor at CES 2025, so stay tuned for our impressions. If you want to upgrade your gamepad, be sure to check out our current roundup The best controllers for Xbox, the PCand PS5. For all the important gaming news from the biggest tech convention of the year, be sure to check out our short list. Everything you need to know about CES 2025.
