During PAX West 2025, Hyperkin announced a release month for an officially licensed Xbox controller called “The Competitor.” Some members of the LV1 Gaming crew had the opportunity to try it out at the Consumer Electronics Show 2025 (CES 2025). Check out their impressions here.
Alongside The Competitor, Hyperkin also had demos of the RetroN GX and Mega95. The RetroN GX will allow retro enthusiasts to play original TurboGrafx-16 and PC Engine cartridges in 720p HD. In case you’re looking to try out Castlevania: Rondo of Blood or Splatterhouse, finally. The Mega95 is their handheld that plays original Sega Genesis and Mega Drive cartridges.
I’m loving the resurgence of handheld devices that can play OG games. I’m from the era when you had to have a CRT TV, set up the RF adapter, and then tune it to Channel 3. I’m a bit of a purist, but I also recognize this cuts out a lot of setup and even provides upscaling and aspect ratio options.
They also unveiled the first in-person public viewing of the InfinaKore “Telecaster edition”. I’m personally a massive fan of Telecasters myself, and it’s a fantastic looking peripheral for Fortnite Festival, Rock Band, Clone Hero, etc. Fortnite Festival feels like it’s caused a resurgence of rhythm game peripherals. It’s probably the music nerd in me, but I’d love to see this do well and Drakong by Hyperkin branches out into more iconic guitar designs like the Gibson Flying V or the Fender Jagstang.
The Competitor Features
- Metal Glide Rings
- Twin Hall Effect Stick Layout
- Anti-Friction Gates
- Dome & Concave Sticks
- Separated D-Pad
- Hall Effect Impulse Triggers
- Lasered Textured Grip
- Programmable Back Buttons with Lock Switches
- Integrated Mic Mute Button
The Competitor is set to launch in October 2025, and controllers will be available in blue, gold, black, red, and white.
