It was the magical year of 2025, when 8BitDo shipped its first leverless arcade controller for fighting game enthusiasts. Now we have the new Arcade Controller Pro, which is made for "serious fighters", as reported by Engadget.
The Arcade Controller Pro is a rectangular pad, and those buttons are used to control everything from your inputs to your movement, and 8BitDo has made them smaller, with tighter spacing between them, to make the whole controller easier to access.
The original Arcade Controller had four programmable buttons, and the Pro has a a fifth one to the far left. Also new is a built-in display that shows you your inputs and battery status. Quick settings adjustments are also a thing.
A control panel is located above the action buttons, which you can use to switch between connection modes and turn up the volume. It can also be used to activate a tournament lock that prevents accidental inputs during competitive play.
The Arcade Controller Pro features hot-swappable switches and redesigned round button caps that you can install from any angle. You can also swap out the programmable P1-P5 button caps with flat lock caps (five are included) for even more insurance against jabbing a button you didn't mean to. 8BitDo's Ultimate Software V2 lets you customise button mapping and create macros.
If you're playing wired (which is supported on both Windows and Switch), there's a metal locking mechanism built into the controller that ensures the USB-C cable doesn't come out if you suddenly move it. The cable can be connected from the top or side. Wireless play is an option (via a 2.4G connection on PC or Bluetooth for Switch), and you should get 15 hours of usage with RGB features turned off.
Unfortunately we are not aware of the release date, or the pricing.