Sony unveils its first fight stick 'Project Defiant', supports PC and PS5

In a surprise twist, Sony announced a new piece of hardware at its State of Play presentation today. Currently going by the codename Project Defiant, it is Sony's first attempt at making a fight stick. Considering the company is currently partnered with Marvel to make a first-party fighting game featuring heroes and villains from the popular comic universe, this seems to be the right time to unveil the project.

As seen in the teaser trailer above, the wireless fight stick follows the modern black and white PlayStation hardware style of the consoles and standard gamepad controllers.

The controller will ship with a toolless design for changing the restrictor gates, with square, circle, and octagon options incoming for the stick. Meanwhile, the buttons are confirmed to have mechanical switches. Plus, a dedicated touchpad, much like on the DualSense controller, is available on the top of the fight stick.

"It’s built in a sturdy, ergonomic design for a comfortable feel during intense fight sessions," adds the company.

Sony is leveraging its PlayStation Link technology in the device. With it, the company is promising ultra-low latency wireless connectivity, making sure it provides players "precise in-game response to each button press and digital stick movement." Interestingly, PlayStation Link is Sony's proprietary wireless connectivity standard designed for PlayStation 5's audio transmissions, which is now being used a little differently for this piece of hardware.

The controller has built-in storage for holding both the restrictor gates and the PS Link USB adapter.

As expected, a wired connection is also possible, with a USB-C port available on the device for connecting to a PlayStation 5 or PC. To make sure the device remains in good condition during travel, Sony is throwing in a sturdy sling carry case with each Project Defiant fight stick.

More details, like the official name, internal hardware, release date, and most importantly, price, will be revealed later. The hardware has a 2026 launch window right now.