8BitDo Arcade Controller Is A Fully-Loaded Svelte Hitbox For Fighting Game Enthusiasts

It's a great day for fighting game aficionados and emulation enthusiasts everywhere. The much-revered 8BitDo, known for its high quality peripherals, has released its own take on a high-quality hitbox-style controller. Comboing off has never been easier.

For those unfamiliar, a hitbox (or leverless) controller is basically a keyboard in arcade stick format with a specific layout that arguably makes it easier to perform fighting game moves and combos. You rest your left hand on four movement buttons, with your thumb activating the jump function, while your right hand takes care of action buttons.

The simply-named 8BitDo Arcade Controller comes in two versions -- one with support for the Nintendo Switch and PC with retro styling, and an official Xbox-licensed peripheral in black and green, supporting Xbox series consoles and PC. Regardless of version, the controller supports USB-C wired mode and two wireless comms modes: Bluetooth for the Switch, or low-latency 2.4 GHz for Xbox and PC with the included adapter. The included battery ought to be good for 20 to 40 hours of fierce gaming.


The casing is quite thin at 16 to 22 mm thick, the frontal dimensions are roughly the size of an A4 sheet of paper at 301x201mm, or 11.8" by 7.9" for barbarians. The foldable magnetic feet have two angles, and the face is made of matte tempered glass to avoid fingerprint collection. As a very charming touch, the faceplate LED button indicators change when you toggle between Switch to PC mode in the regular version.

Four buttons are macro-programmable in the standard version, a figure that drops to two in the Xbox variant. If you don't like the "shoulder" buttons activating, there are four button lock caps included in the box. Advanced fighting game players will be happy to know that the controller's SOCD support (Simultaneously Opposing Cardinal Directions) is configurable with four modes.


As a final added touch, the PCB comes with hot-swappable switches. The included switches hail from Kailh and are of the Wizard type. You can change any number of the included 16 with your preferred type if you so desire. If you regularly attend tournaments, there's an appropriate lock switch that disables macro and other related functionality too.

The 8BitDo Arcade Controllers will release on July 15, but they're available for preordering right away at Amazon. The standard version goes for $89.99 or 89.99€, while the Xbox variant goes for $99.99 or 99.99€.