ASUS ROG Raikiri II Pro: 8000Hz polling and a color screen, but no price yet
ASUS announced the ROG Raikiri II Pro on July 9, 2026 — a wireless PC gaming controller built around an 8000Hz polling rate and a small full-color display on the face of the pad. The previous Raikiri Pro sold for around $200, and the premium PC controller market it's entering is crowded with serious competition. If you use a gamepad for competitive PC gaming, this one is worth watching.
The hardware
The headline spec is ROG SpeedNova at 8000Hz polling — that means the controller reports its position to your PC 8,000 times per second, cutting input lag to near-zero. For comparison, most controllers run at 1000Hz, and Razer's Wolverine V3 Pro 8K is currently the benchmark at that tier, priced at £200-plus in the UK.
The Raikiri II Pro uses TMR (Tunneling Magnetoresistance) joysticks — the same drift-resistant technology you'll find on the GameSir G7 Pro and 8BitDo Ultimate 2, but here they're hot-swappable. Two module sets ship in the box: a standard 120gf pair and a lighter 50gf set for players who prefer less resistance. Triggers are dual-mode, switching between a short Hair Trigger click for shooters and a full analog pull for racing games.
Around the back sit four programmable paddle buttons with textured grip. The built-in ESS DAC handles audio through a 3.5mm jack — plug in a wired headset and the controller processes sound directly rather than routing it through your PC.
The screen, the battery, and the catch
The color display sits at the top of the controller and shows battery level, active profile, and custom animations or your gamertag. Profile switching happens via physical buttons next to the screen. Turn the display off and ASUS claims up to 79 hours of battery life over 2.4GHz wireless — though that figure requires RGB, vibration, and audio all disabled, and polling dropped to 1000Hz. Real-world use will land lower.
Three connection modes are on board: USB-C wired, 2.4GHz RF dongle, and Bluetooth. This is a PC-only controller — it lacks Xbox certification, which separates it from the Raikiri II Xbox (1000Hz, ~£180–190 at UK retail). Settings are managed via ASUS Armoury Crate software, including dead zones, vibration intensity, and Aura Sync RGB.
Pricing and availability
As of the announcement, ASUS has not confirmed UK or US pricing or a retail launch date, per ASUS Press Release, July 9, 2026. The Gadgeteer estimates a likely range of £190–220 pending confirmation. That would put it directly against the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro — and well above the GameSir G7 Pro (around £70) and 8BitDo Ultimate 2 (around £60), both of which also use TMR sticks. ASUS will need a sharp price to justify the premium over those alternatives.
