Hori's latest gamepad is up for pre-order, and it's nearly $100 cheaper than other pro controllers for PS5

The selection of officially licensed pro controllers for PS5 is great so far, but there’s one big catch. If you want a PS5 pro controller with a few back buttons and more customization features than the DualSense will allow, you’ll need to spend nearly $200 for it. This is as costly as pro controllers get in 2025, and for many, it’s a high price to afford.

Hori is coming to the rescue for some PS5 players, though, because its upcoming Wireless Fighting Commander OCTA Pro controller is up for pre-order now, and costs only $99 at Amazon in the US and £89 at Amazon in the UK. This is a really surprising price tag to see on an officially licensed PS5 controller since word on the street is that securing Sony’s licensing costs a lot more for peripheral brands than if they pursue Xbox or Nintendo Switch instead.

That makes it the most affordable entrant in the best PS5 controller race since the original version of this controller launched back in 2023. In the UK, it’s £110 less than the Victrix Pro BFG (£179.99), and in the US it’s $100 less than the DualSense Edge ($199).

Of course, there’s a rather large caveat to this controller’s price, and it’s the fact that it’s clearly been designed for one specific genre of game and might not be as versatile as some of the more expensive options. This is a fighting game controller through and through, sporting six face buttons (additional R1 and L1 buttons next to X, O, Triangle, and Square). It also features two back buttons, wireless support, a swappable D-pad, and microswitch buttons for speedy actuation.

Unlike most of the best PC controllers launching today, there’s no mention of Hall sensor tech inside the thumbstick modules, meaning that stick drift may be an issue to look out for if you’re quite hard on your peripherals. It’s strange that there’s no progression in that respect from the existing version of this controller, the Fighting Commander OCTA. However, the new version does have a shorter right thumbstick to add a bit more versatility, as well as the back buttons, which the previous iteration didn’t have.

A marketing image of the Hori Wireless Fighting Commander OCTA Pro describing its wired and wireless connectivity

(Image credit: Hori)

In the US, the Hori Wireless Fighting Commander OCTA Pro will launch on April 14, 2025, but UK shoppers will need to wait until May 17 to get their hands on the fightpad.

The OCTA Pro certainly stands in a league of its own at the moment though, since no other PS5 controller, and very few Xbox Series X controllers commit so hard to the fighting game genre. Other than something like this, the next best “pro” option is to go for a full-blown fightstick, but these can be expensive, take a lot of setting up, and even more relearning to use.

If you want the fightpad allowance but would rather invest in a controller that can excel in other genres too, I’d recommend the Victrix Pro BFG since it has a modular design and comes with a fightpad module that gives you six facial buttons. Other than that, the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro was designed in collaboration with fighting game Esports athletes, so it could serve you well in games like Tekken 8.

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