With new hardware must come new accessories. Something as powerful as the Nintendo Switch 2 needed a peripheral to complement it. Nintendo, of course, was faced with the challenge of crafting a worthy follow-up to the original Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Having had six months to play around with it, the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller is indeed a strong successor.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller doesn't deviate too much from its predecessor. The thumbsick locations are the same, the button placement is the same, and the D-pad location is the same. However, the controller itself feels slightly more comfortable than the previous Switch Pro Controller, offering a better grip. On top of that, the buttons feel a little more responsive and the D-pad is a big improvement. The same can be said for the triggers and bumpers, which feel clickier and more intuitive than the previous Switch Pro Controller.

The proprietary features on the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller feel more like icing on the cake. It sports two back buttons, similar to what one would see on a premium third-party PlayStation/Xbox controller. While they're not mandatory to use, they're easily usable and are a big help on shooters like Cyberpunk 2077 and Fortnite. The new wired 3.5mm audio jack allows for wired headset usage, which was a major omission from the previous Pro Controller and makes this newer peripheral one worth using when playing with friends.

Finally, it's worth noting that the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller's battery life is enough for those late-night gaming sessions. Nintendo touts 40 hours and it certainly delivers that, give or take a few. Long controller battery life was a major plus of the original Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and this latest model proudly carries that feature forward.

Nintendo has offered plenty of ways to play the Nintendo Switch 2. There's the myriad of ways to wield a Joy-Con 2, plus there's backwards compatibility with previous Switch peripherals. For us, there's nothing better than a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, the Shacknews Best Accessory of 2025.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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