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PC Gamer
PC Gamer
James Bentley

'Basically Lego for gamers': This new game controller has modular buttons, sticks, grips, and even vibration motors

A picture of Beitong's PanGu controller.

Other bits of PC hardware might not be, but controllers are actually in a really good place right now. There are so many options for all kinds of feel, layouts, and designs, and many of them rival Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo for build quality, too. That's why, when I saw a company touting itself as 'basically Lego for gamers', I felt like I had to pay attention.

Shared on X, company Beitong has decided to show off its PanGu controller. As all good controllers should by now, it comes with a charging dock, but the real selling point is the controller itself. It has swappable joysticks, ABXY buttons, back paddles, grip shells, and even vibration motors, and they can be exchanged without having to grab a screwdriver.

Though I'm not massively into the fairly blocky white build, I do find the design itself fascinating. The sticks and pads all have little buttons next to them to pop them out and swap them for others. Beitong says its software immediately understands the modules you've chosen and recommends layouts. It even has presets for specific games, which you can activate through the software. If it works, that's pretty neat.

The grips look like they function similarly to the Meta Quest 3 ones (i.e., pull down at the right angle to take them off), and this gives you easy access to the vibration motors. If you want to lessen the weight and don't care about vibration, it seems like a solid way of doing so.

It comes with TMR joystick modules, up to 1,000 Hz polling (wired and wireless), and is compatible with Windows, Switch, Android, and iOS. It's not officially on Beitong's Amazon storefront just yet, but the controller by itself seems to be fetching north of $100 from other sellers, with the dock bundle, or dock and bag bundle, fetching a bit more.

Personally, that seems like a lot to pay for a brand I'm unfamiliar with, though its competition is a bit more expensive. It's similar in design to the $200 Turtle Beach Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded (though that requires a screwdriver and is less customizable).

As I've learned through my years of testing controllers, feel will be nearly everything here, and is pretty much the only thing you can't tell through a video alone.

With the market filled with numerous excellent controllers, Beitong has a serious climb ahead of it, but the PanGu looks pretty notable regardless. It's just a shame I'm into the engineering a good bit more than the look.

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