| Price | HJK |
| Release | November 20, 2025 |
| Compatibility | NS / PC |
| Dimensions | 12.6″ x 8.8″ x 1.0″ |
| Weight | ~2.37 lbs |
| Cable | 1.8 m |
Overview
The HJK Hitpad is one of the most ambitious controllers to date. It’s not some controller that was put together in a rush to make a quick buck.
Instead, the Hitpad is innovative in many aspects, but before diving any deeper, here’s a brief timeline of what happened leading up to the controller’s launch:
- Announcement on HJK’s site in April of 2025
- Exhibit at Evo Japan 2025
- Exhibit at FightClub Championship VI Chengdu
In case you didn’t know, Chengdu is a city in China. Another fun fact is that the letters of the Hitpad’s brand, HJK, are adjacent on a QWERTY keyboard.
Unboxing
You can tell that a lot of attention to detail was paid even before you unbox the Hitpad. You see, it comes in a box within a box. The first box has a cardboard look, but it still has some HJK branding—as well as the racecar vibe that the controller has.
Then, the Hitpad’s second box has even more of a racecar vibe—with a black & red color scheme—and it’s protected with some film you can peel. Impressively, there are corner guards for this second box.
At this point, you’re now inside the second box. Remove the top sheet, which has the Hitpad’s button template, and you’ll find the gorgeous controller.
Under the Hitpad is a third box with a logo that has the “by fighters, for fighters” motto—in addition to a depiction of gloves that look like Ryu’s. Within this last box, HJK gifts you the following items—with each item carefully packed into its own dedicated bag:
- Extra Luke switches (2)
- Keycap spacers (20)
- Keycap plugs (4)
- Keycap puller
- Switch puller
- Manual
Performance
Let’s start with a few items in the Hitpad’s unboxing section above that you may not be familiar with. For one, Luke switches are specifically for fighting games. In fact, their blue and orange color scheme is reminiscent of Luke from Street Fighter.
The switches’ actuation force is 37 g, and they actuate at 0.8 mm—with the travel distance being 2 mm. In other words, the Hitpad’s switches have speed.
(If you prefer other switches, the Hitpad’s stock switches are hot swappable with most low profile alternatives—no soldering tools or skills needed.)
As for the Hitpad’s keycap spacers, they can adjust the travel distance to 1.6 mm, and these spacers have been tested to also reduce noise significantly.
Regarding the keycap plugs, you can use them to hide any buttons you don’t need. Something else you can do is use HJK’s sleek web configurator to remap the Hitpad’s buttons.
More about the buttons…
With 18 buttons, the Hitpad is fantastic for games like Street Fighter 6, but if you’re a Tekken or Guilty Gear player for example, you might only need, say, a dozen buttons.
Otherwise, some of the Hitpad’s extra buttons, such as the thumb buttons, are for L3 and R3. There’s also a button that makes the controller usable as a WASD controller.
The Hitpad’s buttons are basically PBT keycaps. They’re textured and dome-like, making pianoing & sliding techniques easy for you.
Most of the buttons are 24 mm, and the 30 mm jump button makes pressing it with either thumb’s side a piece of cake—pretty standard stuff. Needless to say, the Hitpad features SOCD cleaning to keep things tournament-legal.
But what do the Hitpad’s function buttons do? Here you go—from left to right:
- Home
- Share
- Select
- L3
- R3
- Start
- Touchpad
And let’s wrap up our performance analysis with the Hitpad’s toggles:
- PC/NS
- Lock/unlock
- VS/1/2
(One toggle allows you to alternate between PC and the Nintendo Switch. Another toggle locks or unlocks the Hitpad’s function buttons. The last toggle cycles between VS mode, the first profile, and the second profile.)
Hardware
The Hitpad was designed to be comfortable to use—as well as easy to carry. The latter is in part due to the controller’s part plastic, part acrylic structure (which has a subtle 4° slope, by the way).
Continuing on, the Hitpad’s palm rests are compatible with HJK’s adhesive anti-slip grips that are optional. Honestly, the palm rests are grippy enough as they are, and the aforementioned grips are more like pleasant cushions.
That said, more anti-slip goodness can be found at the Hitpad’s bottom, namely a five-part silicone pad that covers the entire space. Even the keycap plugs are made of soft silicone—a material that the industry in general seems to like.
Fortunately, the Hitpad’s cable is detachable from its lockable USB-C port, which is located roughly in the center back. You can even store the cable in that area when not using it.
More interestingly, there’s a USB-A port nearby where you can insert your own dongle to make the Hitpad compatible with more consoles. About the controller’s chip:
- Designed by HJK itself
- Optimized for really low latency
- Supports downloadable updates
Other than that, you can find a 3.5 mm headphone jack in the Hitpad’s front, so you can stay laser focused.
Appearance
We’ve already established that the Hitpad has a racecar vibe. The matte acrylic top is also pleasing to see, especially if you paste the purple anti-slip grips nearby.
More than that, the black cable matches the Hitpad well, the mainly black bottom is cool too, and the bottom’s center is purple—with some HJK branding.
Not just that, HJK made sure that the PBT has durable coloring. As for the function button graphics, they’re printed with UV. Finally, the Hitpad’s light indicator is a nicely added touch.
Conclusion
From the moment you unbox the Hitpad to when you actually use it, innovation is a word that constantly comes to mind. Simply put, this controller is a contender for the most innovative yet.
The Hitpad is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and its 18 buttons—including a left pinky button—mean that even the most serious players can use it in the competitive arena. It’s also rare to see both right index and right middle finger buttons in one layout.
- 18 convex keycaps with plugs
- Dual leverless-WASD layout
- Switches for fighting games
- Adjustable travel/sound
- Extendable compatibility
- HJK chip with web config
- Subtle ergonomic slope
- Optional anti-slip grips
- Fully anti-slip bottom
- Lockable USB ports
- Headphone jack
- Sick packaging
- Racecar vibe
- Free stuff!
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐