Fighting game fans, get your money ready: Sony has unveiled Project Defiant, its first official fighting game title for PS5 and PC

One of the most unexpected surprises of the latest PlayStation State of Play presentation was the announcement of Sony's first official fighting game controller, codenamed "Project Defiant". Although details are not yet well known, we've already got our first look at the design, features, and confirmation that it will support both PS5 and PC when it launches in 2026.

Here's What We Know

The Project Defiant fighting stick uses an eight-button layout and a joystick with a black and white colour scheme that matches the look of the PS5. According to Sony, Project Defiant will have a "rugged, ergonomic design for a comfortable feel during intense battle sessions" and support ultra-low latency wireless connections via PlayStation Link or wired connections on PC and PS5.

It's unclear how flexible Project Defiant will be for modifications, but so far Sony has confirmed that it will feature three different joystick restraint plates - square, round or octagonal - that can be replaced without the use of tools. There will be a built-in compartment to store additional thumbsticks and the PS Link USB adapter when not in use.

As for the other controls, the eight main buttons (which correspond to Cross, Circle, Square, Triangle, R1, R2, L1 and L2) use mechanical switches to provide tactile feedback and durability. The rest of the standard controls from the DualSense controller for PS5 are also present on the fighting stick, including:

• PS button
• Share button
• PlayStation Link button
• L3 button
• R3 button
• Touchpad
• Options button

Sony says that more details will be revealed over the coming months, so we expect to learn the price and final release date. It is currently scheduled to launch sometime in 2026.

Source: PlayStation