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- Razer’s new Wolverine V4 Pro features removable magnetic rear buttons, interchangeable thumbsticks and a customisable faceplate.
- New capacitive thumbstick sensors promise improved precision and better resistance to stick drift, plus up to 8,000 Hz polling rates on PC.
- The wireless Wolverine V4 Pro costs AUD $329.95, while the wired Wolverine V4 Tournament Edition costs AUD $179.95.
Competitive gaming controllers have a habit of adding more with every new generation. More buttons, more settings, more ways to shave a few milliseconds off your response time, and more often than not, more RGB than you actually asked for. Razer can sometimes add more than it needs, but with its all-new Wolverine V4 Pro, it takes a slightly different approach to customising the controller in your hand: removing the buttons you don’t use.
The Wolverine V4 Pro and wired Wolverine V4 Tournament Edition are Razer’s latest generation of esports controllers for 2026, officially designed for Xbox and PC, and according to 2025 Halo World Champion ‘LastShot’, the Pro version is “damn near perfect”.
Razer’s new Pro wireless controller keeps the same 8,000 Hz polling rate on PC as the previous generation, but adds a handful of upgrades, including new capacitive thumbstick sensors, adjustable triggers and up to 27 hours of battery life. The more affordable wired version cuts a few extras but keeps most of those higher-tier components, limiting the performance sacrifice between versions. But if you have the extra cash to go wireless, we reckon it’s the removable magnetic back buttons on the Pro controller that will be the deciding factor.
1/4Razer Wolverine V4 Pro – Key Specs
- Price: AUD $329.95
- Compatibility: Xbox Series X|S and PC
- Connectivity: Wired and 2.4 GHz wireless
- Battery life: Up to 27 hours; approximately 3 hours for a full recharge
- Thumbsticks: High-resolution capacitive sensors, six interchangeable thumbstick caps
- Additional controls: Four removable magnetic rear buttons and two removable claw-grip bumpers
- Triggers: Adjustable Razer Pro HyperTriggers (1.3 mm to 8.2 mm actuation)
- Polling rate: Up to 8,000 Hz on PC; 250 Hz on Xbox
- Customisation: Removable magnetic faceplate, remappable buttons and four onboard profiles
- Availability: Shipping from 26 October 2026
A Customised Controller Configured for Every Game
The Wolverine V4 Pro comes with four removable magnetic rear buttons and two additional claw-grip bumpers, giving players six programmable inputs beyond the standard Xbox layout.
Instead of committing to the same button layout for every game, the Wolverine V4 Pro lets players physically add or remove controls depending on what you’re playing, rather than relying solely on software remapping. You can still go that route with four onboard profiles for different button mappings and sensitivity settings in Razer Synapse, giving you even more ways to customise your controller.
“The new back button design is incredibly convenient for creating my perfect layout,” says ‘LastShot’.
For example, in a competitive shooter, you might want all six extra buttons, where jumping, sliding and reloading without taking your thumbs off the sticks can come in handy. But switch to a racing game or something a little more relaxed, and there’s very little reason to have those extra buttons sitting around, waiting for you to accidentally trigger them.
“The buttons feel as fast and responsive as ever before, and the improved polling rate is exactly what I need to stay ahead of the competition.”
It’s a little like the interchangeable side panels on Razer’s Naga gaming mouse, but instead of swapping entire button layouts, you choose which individual controls you want available. And sure, removable buttons aren’t exactly revolutionary, but we love that the replacement inserts appear to sit flush against the controller, removing the unnecessary gaps and bumps you often find on other controllers with similar features.
Players can even choose their thumbsticks, with six interchangeable thumbstick caps: pre-loaded short concave caps “for a well-balanced experience,” short convex caps that offer “a smooth texture for fast rolling movements,” or taller concave microtextured caps that are “more granular,” making them ideal for “precision aiming”.
And thanks to the removable magnetic faceplate, the Wolverine V4 Pro offers even more customisation options. Players can swap them for other designs, personalise the one that comes with the controller, or leave it off entirely to play in the buff, no tools required.
New Thumbsticks, 8,000 Hz Polling and Adjustable Triggers
Beyond the Wolverine V4 Pro’s modular design, one of its biggest technical upgrades is the move to capacitive thumbstick sensors. It’s a different approach from the Hall Effect sensors used in the previous Wolverine V3 Pro and the TMR technology found in other premium gaming controllers.
Traditional thumbsticks rely on physical electrical contacts to track movement, which can wear down over time and eventually lead to the dreaded stick drift. Like Hall Effect and TMR sensors, Razer’s new capacitive sensors avoid moving electrical contacts, measuring stick position without the same wear and tear. Razer claims its new system offers greater precision and better resistance to magnetic interference than existing contactless technologies, with roughly 3,000 steps of movement detection for finer control over smaller movements, especially when aiming in shooters.
Razer also says the new sensors offer more than 10 times the resolution of the previous generation, with a true zero per cent dead zone that can register even the smallest movements of your thumb.
Both Wolverine V4 controllers also support polling rates of up to 8,000 Hz on PC, whether you’re playing wired or wirelessly on the Pro. As for those playing on Xbox Series X|S, you’ll only reach a maximum of 250 Hz, which is significantly less than what’s available to the PC master race. That said, 8,000 Hz isn’t new territory for Razer, as the previous Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC already offered the same.
Rounding things out for the Wolverine V4 lineup are Razer Pro HyperTriggers, which can switch between a short, mouse-click-style press for shooters and a longer analogue pull for games that benefit from more precise throttle control. You can also adjust trigger actuation in Synapse from 1.3 mm to 8.2 mm, similar to the adjustable key actuation on Razer’s mechanical keyboards, including the limited-edition Huntsman Signature Edition. The Pro also features reinforced PBT face buttons, an eight-way D-pad, and textured TPU grips.
If that sounds like your kind of thing, you can pick up the wireless Wolverine V4 Pro for AUD $329.95 when it starts shipping on 26 October 2026.
1/4Razer Wolverine V4 Tournament Edition – Key Specs
- Price: AUD $179.95
- Compatibility: Xbox Series X|S and PC
- Connectivity: Wired, 2-metre USB cable
- Thumbsticks: High-resolution capacitive sensors
- Additional controls: Four fixed mouse-click rear buttons and two claw-grip bumpers
- Triggers: Adjustable Razer Pro HyperTriggers
- Polling rate: Up to 8,000 Hz on PC; 250 Hz on Xbox
- Customisation: Six remappable additional buttons and four onboard profiles
- Availability: Shipping from 19 October 2026
The wired Wolverine V4 Tournament Edition costs roughly half as much at AUD $179.95. Despite the lower price, you’re still getting the same capacitive thumbstick technology, adjustable triggers and up to 8,000 Hz polling on PC. You also get the full set of six additional programmable controls, plus four onboard profiles, so you don’t sacrifice many performance features.
You will, however, miss out on the ability to remove and swap the rear buttons and bumpers, along with the Pro’s interchangeable magnetic faceplate.
And while there’s a wire connecting you to your console or PC, you won’t need to sit too close to your TV or monitor, since the controller comes with a two-metre USB cable. Not everyone wants to be tied down, but if you’re the sort of player who sits at a desk or doesn’t mind a wired connection, there’s plenty of competitive hardware here without paying for the Pro’s extra customisation.
Which One Should I Buy?
First things first, both Wolverine V4 controllers are officially designed for Xbox Series X|S and PC, so PlayStation owners will need to look elsewhere. That’s partly because consoles have different compatibility requirements, with Microsoft and Sony each having their own licensing arrangements for third-party accessories. Fortunately, Razer also makes the Raiju V3 Pro, an officially licensed wireless controller for PS5 and PC.
If you’re looking at your controller with disappointment, the wired Tournament Edition seems like a reasonable way to save $150 on your next controller upgrade, with the latest thumbstick technology and enough adjustable controls to dial it in exactly as you see fit. But if you regularly switch between games and want more control over the button layout, the Pro gives you a reason to spend the extra cash. Whether that’s worth $150 is another question, but it’s certainly more interesting than another race to reduce input latency.
Aussie gamers can get their hands on the new Tournament Edition when it starts shipping from 19 October, followed by the Wolverine V4 Pro from 26 October.
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