Doing something new and unique with a controller is pretty difficult in 2025. Ensuring that something is actually useful and not just a cheap gimmick is even harder. It might seem as if the Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot has achieved the latter and not the former at first glance, but while its core feature appears to be a novelty to help it stand out, the design as a whole results in one of the best third-party Xbox controllers on the market, even if you don’t need its rotating modules.
Yes, that’s right, I said rotating modules. What exactly are rotating modules, I hear you ask? Well, in Turtle Beach controller terms, they’re components of the peripheral that can be altered with ease to completely change the button layout. The Stealth Pivot has two of them, one on each side of the controller. The goal is that this one controller can have entirely different button layouts at the flick of a switch.
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Well, two switches, both of which are positioned on the back of the peripheral and lock to keep the modules in place. Out of the box, the Pivot has a standard Xbox controller layout – left stick and d-pad on the left, right stick and face buttons on the right. However, on the flip side of the rotating modules there’s a d-pad with LSB and RSB buttons on the left, and the standard four facebuttons with two extras on the right.
The rotated modules have been designed with fighting game aficionados in mind, but they’re also great for playing simple sidescrollers and other retro games.
Twisty Sticks, Sensitive Triggers, And Your Very Own Profile
Customize Until It’s Comfortable
The Stealth Pivot’s customization options don’t begin and end with rotating modules, though. One of my favorite things about Turtle Beach’s new offering is how it approaches customizing the thumbsticks. I’ve used a lot of controllers that come with interchangeable thumbsticks, and while they’re great for altering a controller to fit the needs of different players and different games, even the easiest ones to switch are a bit of a faff.
Here, the thumbsticks can’t be removed, because they don’t need to be. If you prefer shorter sticks, all you need to do is twist them. Twist them back the other way and they return to their standard length. Adjusting the sensitivity of your triggers is even easier. There’s a switch on the top of the Pivot next to each one that can be toggled on and off. Turn it on if you want the triggers to be more sensitive – perfect for first-person shooters – and then flick the switch again to return to normal.
While certain features can be changed on the fly, the Pivot’s other customization options run deep. Buttons can be remapped to your liking, including the two additional buttons on the back, and while there’s a Control Center app for all that, mapping can also be done through a screen on the controller itself. Not only that, but if you’re living in a house where a lot of people are going to be using this controller, the Pivot can house up to five profiles at a time. That means if someone else has been using the controller since the last time you picked it up, you won’t need to remap the buttons to your liking.
That’s provided you’ve explained to whoever used it last that they can and should set up their own profile before they start messing with your settings. That part’s on you, though.
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The Pivot’s screen isn’t just for switching profiles and mapping buttons. You can also sync it with your social media profiles so notifications pop up as you play. I’m still torn on this feature. If you’re playing a game to try and shut out the outside world for an hour or two, the last thing you want are constant reminders of it popping up on your controller. However, if you’re playing something like Marvel Rivals and a friend informs you they’re about to hop on, a notification on your controller letting you know not to go directly into another match is great. Connecting the Pivot to your social media profiles is entirely optional too, so being torn about it is perhaps a little nitpicky. “You control the buttons you press” and all that.
If you’re simply looking for a new controller that you can use right out of the box and feels great, I’m struggling to think of one I’d recommend more highly. Usually there’s a comfortability curve with new controllers where it can feel a little weird at first. That didn’t happen with the Pivot. I forgot I was using a controller I’d previously never held before within 30 seconds of playing with it for the first time. It was also ready to go within seconds of plugging it in which is not the case with some other third-party controllers.
The Stealth Pivot is compatible with Xbox and PC and while it can be used wirelessly with the latter, it’s wired-only for Series X|S players. That wasn’t an issue for me since I prefer wired controllers and the Pivot comes with an eight-foot USB-C cable, but I can see why it would be a stumbling block for some. At $129.99, it’s quite a bit more expensive than a standard Xbox controller, but its features make it worth the extra, even if you don’t plan on spinning those rotating modules all that often.
It’s also significantly cheaper than certain other high-end third-party controller options currently available while arguably being just as good, if not markedly better when it comes to comfort and customization. The Stealth Pivot is a strong contender for your next PC controller if you’re on the lookout for one, and a must-have for Xbox owners if you don’t mind your controller being tethered to the console.
Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot Wireless Smart Controller
- Wireless?
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Yes for PC, Wired for Xbox
- Compatible Systems
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PC, Xbox, Android
- Brand
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Turtle Beach
- Battery
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20 Hours
- Headset Support
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3.5mm audio port
- Rotating modules are a very unique feature
- Thumbsticks, triggers, and mappable buttons are very easy to customize
- Very comfortable to hold and use
- Limited to a wired connection on Xbox