There's no doubt that Turtle Beach's Stealth Pivot controller is built on a gimmick, but it's one that's still pretty impressive. With the flick of two gears and the twist of two sections of the controller, the Stealth Pivot can transform from a device that favors one type of gaming experience to one that favors another.

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New Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller lets you switch button layouts
With an industry-first customization feature, the new Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot is worth buying.
At a glance, the Stealth Pivot looks a lot like Turtle Beach's Stealth Ultra, with the Connected Command screen in the middle. From the built-in screen, users can view social messages from their phone, switch button mapping profiles and view battery information. It's a lower resolution screen compared to the Stealth Ultra, but it still displays useful information.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller comes with all the right features
The Stealth Pivot has some of the usual premium control features such as:
- Hall Effect Joysticks – Avoiding stick drift is essential for any premium controller.
- Trigger stops (full and short) – If you want to take full advantage of a trigger or prefer to treat it like a button with an instant press.
- 2 Customizable Back Buttons – The back buttons cover part of the controller handle and the underside of the controller, making them easy to press while maintaining a firm grip.
The Stealth Pivot has a good amount of weight and feels comfortable to hold. The controller is a little top heavy due to the screen, but I didn't find it distracting or weighted in such a way that it felt out of balance. There's also some texture on the outside of the grips and back buttons to help an otherwise smooth controller stay comfortable in your hands.
Take the name out of the equation, the Stealth Pivot is a solid premium controller that ticks all the right boxes. Its wireless functionality on PC (connected to Xbox) makes it a great option for gamers on the platform, it has some style and is comfortable in the hands. But it's no ordinary controller.
By flipping two controls on the bottom and twisting the joysticks, you can rotate the two control/button modules on the front of the controller, revealing two new layouts. On the left module, a rotation reveals a module with a D-Pad in place of the joystick and an RSB and LSB button underneath. To the right, a rotation reveals a module with the XYAB buttons in place of the joystick and the P1 and P2 buttons above them.
Depending on which modules you rotate, there are four possible configurations with the Stealth Pivot, but it's clear that the controller is targeting the fighting game and retro gaming commonalities of the other modules. Playing a side scroller, for example, doesn't need a second joystick, and having 6 buttons right at your fingertips can be beneficial. Or in a fighting game, the precision of a D-Pad combined with the 6 buttons (for high, medium and low actions) might be preferable to a standard controller layout.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller is a great fit for the fighting and retro gaming communities.
The added versatility will put the Stealth Pivot in a unique spot for many players and will make it exciting as a result. Also having the ability to switch to “side scroller mode” or “fighting game mode” is attractive but also completely optional. As mentioned, the Stealth Pivot is a solid controller without changing modules – being able to do that pivot is a bonus. Whether you'll find Turtle Beach's controller more attractive than some other similarly priced premium controllers will depend on how useful that switching mechanism is to you.
As with most Turtle Beach controllers, you can jump into the Control Center app and customize things like RGB colors, attach dead zones, map all the buttons, or set audio settings for the included headphone jack. If you're going to choose an orientation with a bunch of added buttons, it's nice to be able to set them to your liking.
In my testing of the Stealth Pivot, I found the module rotation to be a nice feature to have. Jumping from a first-person shooter that STALKER 2 where dual joysticks are essential for a precision-advantaged side scroller that Nine suns is simple and easy with the controller and I felt like having two different configurations for two different games made each experience better.
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot gets the basics right and that's crucial to its wider appeal. Obviously, there are subcommunities that will find the controller more attractive than others, but knowing that Turtle Beach didn't skimp on premium controller features or put too much focus on the modules means that anyone can treat each unique feature as an added bonus. Essentially it's 3+ controls in one and they all work really well.

Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot looks set to stand out from the growing pool of customizable controllers by offering a unique button layout and thumbstick switching functionality. Instead of swapping out parts, players simply need to switch between the traditional layout to a fighting game style layout. The controller also supports wired and wireless connectivity, so you can play with a free range of motion or connected to the screen.
- A great premium control in itself
- Module rotation opens up its utility
- 20 hours of battery life
- The module change will not appeal to everyone
The Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Controller is available for pre-order now. Game Rant was provided a device for this review.