Peripheral manufacturer Hyperkin has announced The Competitor Xbox controller at CES 2025 (via IGN).The Competitor definitely stands out in the realm of third-party Xbox controllers with a silhouette very similar to PlayStation's DualSense Wireless Controller.
That of course means it also has a symmetrical thumbstick layout which is certainly less common on the Xbox platform.The Competitor's thumbsticks (as well as the triggers) are also Hall effect, which are significantly more resistant to stick drift.
That alone is a pretty sizeable upgrade over the DualSense and the Xbox Wireless Controller, neither of which feature the now-standard gamepad tech.The Competitor looks like it'll come in two distinct colorways: white-on-black as well as fully black.
Additional features include two remappable buttons on the rear of the controller as well as a mic mute button between those symmetrical thumbsticks.No price or release date has been announced for The Competitor at present, but we'd expect it to launch sometime this year.
In terms of price, Hyperkin models do tend to be on the more affordable side. For example, the Hyperkin Xenon — a near 1-to-1 recreation of the iconic Xbox 360 controller — retailed for $49.99 / £34.99.