8BitDo’s Tomb Raider 30th Anniversary Controllers: a Gold Ultimate 3 for Xbox and a Lost Valley Pro 3

Lara Croft turns 30 this year, and 8BitDo made her two controllers for it. The 8BitDo Tomb Raider controllers are special editions of the Ultimate 3 for Xbox and the Pro 3 Bluetooth. One is gold and covered in Laras. The other one? Straight back to the jungle from the very first game.

What are the 8BitDo Tomb Raider controllers?

They’re Tomb Raider 30th Anniversary Editions of two controllers 8BitDo already sells, the Ultimate 3 Controller for XBOX and the Pro 3 Bluetooth Gamepad. This is an official Tomb Raider collaboration, and Crystal Dynamics had 8BitDo on its list of 30th anniversary partners back in January. The Ultimate 3 carries an official Xbox licence on top of that. If you see “TR30th” in the store links, that’s just 8BitDo’s shorthand for the whole thing.

When do they come out, and how much are they?

Both ship on October 24, 2026, and you can pre-order them now. 8BitDo’s store has the Ultimate 3 edition at $119.99 and the Pro 3 edition at $79.99, and those listings went up on September 24. Amazon US gives the same October 24 date, with the Pro 3 at $79.99. Its Ultimate 3 listing, though, showed as unavailable on October 20.

Outside the US, Amazon UK lists both for November 13. 8BitDo’s own store ships worldwide from China, and its shipping policy puts international delivery at 15 to 20 working days. Customs duties or VAT? Those are on you.

How much more do they cost than the regular versions?

$20 more for the Ultimate 3 and $10 more for the Pro 3. The regular Ultimate 3 for Xbox is $99.99 in Lavender Dusk or Mossy Lagoon, and the regular Pro 3 is $69.99 in Orange, Purple, G Classic or Gray. So what does the extra get you? The artwork, a dock that matches it and, on the Ultimate 3, a couple of real hardware changes.

What does the Ultimate 3 edition add?

A gold shell covered in Lara Croft silhouettes from every era of the series. 8BitDo’s page walks you through them: the original 1996 to 2000 games, then the Angel of Darkness, Legend and Survivor eras. The face buttons are black with gold lettering, and the dock carries a “30” Tomb Raider logo. It’s a lot of gold.

The D-pad is actually new: zinc alloy with gold plating, which 8BitDo pitches as tactile. The regular Ultimate 3 lists a disc D-pad built for easy diagonals. The sticks change too. The regular model’s Force Ring lets you adjust stick tension, and this one’s Dual Force Ring adds a soft silicone ring under each stick that cushions it at the edge.

That’s the same Dual Force Ring 8BitDo puts on its $39.99 Ultimate 3C+, by the way. Everything else matches the regular Ultimate 3, apart from the weight: 8BitDo lists 476 g for this edition and 466 g for the regular one.

What does the Pro 3 edition add?

A tribute to the Lost Valley, the jungle level with the T-Rex from the 1996 original. Yes, that T-Rex. The shell is sandstone brown with creeping vines and carved patterns, and a gold circular mechanism wraps around the face buttons. Those buttons are magnetic, like on every Pro 3, and here they carry Atlantean symbols. You can still pop them off and swap between Switch and Xbox layouts with the included button puller.

The box adds two themed stick caps on top of the two ball-top caps the regular Pro 3 already includes. The dock gets jungle art and a Tomb Raider logo. Under the paint, though, it’s the regular Pro 3, same spec sheet, same 242.4 g.

Do they work on Switch, PS5 or Steam Deck?

The Pro 3 covers Switch, Switch 2 and Steam Deck, and neither controller lists PlayStation, so PS5 players are out of luck here. The Ultimate 3 is the one for Xbox: it connects to an Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One or Windows PC over its 2.4G adapter or USB, and to Android and Apple devices over Bluetooth. Switch isn’t on its list.

The Pro 3 pairs with a Switch or Switch 2 over Bluetooth, its adapter or USB, and with a Steam Deck on SteamOS 3.7.13 or later. It’s also the one with motion controls on Switch and Steam. On Apple devices, it needs iOS 26 or later. And no, Xbox consoles aren’t on its list.

What do the two have in common?

More than the price gap suggests. Both use TMR sticks, a magnetic sensor that reads the stick without the contacts that wear out in older sticks, and 8BitDo pitches them as more durable. Both have Hall effect triggers with a switch: two trigger stops on the Ultimate 3, and a linear or tactile mode on the Pro 3. Both get two back buttons and two extra bumpers, L4 and R4. And both come with a charging dock, a 2.4G adapter and a 1,000 mAh battery.

The Ultimate 3 throws in a few extras. It polls at up to 1000Hz on PC, has a headphone jack, four sets of rumble motors and a dock that charges it wirelessly. That dock also holds the adapter, so it can sit by your console or PC and boost the signal. 8BitDo rates the Ultimate 3 at 20 hours per charge.

Ultimate 3 vs Pro 3: which one should you get?

Let your console decide. On Xbox, it’s the Ultimate 3, and on Switch or Steam Deck, it’s the Pro 3. On a Windows PC? Either works, so it comes down to layout and price. The Ultimate 3 has Xbox-style offset sticks and the faster polling, and the symmetrical Pro 3 is $40 cheaper.

	Ultimate 3 for Xbox (TR30th)	Pro 3 Bluetooth (TR30th)
Price on October 20	$119.99	$79.99
Regular version	$99.99	$69.99
Ships	October 24	October 24
Consoles	Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One	Switch, Switch 2
Also works with	Windows, Android, Apple	Windows, SteamOS, Android, Apple
Layout	Offset sticks, Xbox style	Symmetrical sticks
Sticks	TMR, adjustable tension	TMR
Triggers	Hall effect, two trigger stops	Hall effect, linear or tactile mode
Extra buttons	2 back buttons, L4 and R4	2 back buttons, L4 and R4
Motion controls	PC only	Switch and Steam
Polling rate	Up to 1000Hz on PC	Up to 250Hz
Dock	Wireless charging	Charging dock
Battery	1,000 mAh, 20 hours	1,000 mAh
Weight	476 g	242.4 g

Who is it for?

Tomb Raider fans who were going to buy a good controller anyway. The Ultimate 3 is for the Xbox or PC player who wants the gold metal D-pad and the softer stick stop, and the Pro 3 is for the Switch or Steam Deck player who grew up in the Lost Valley. Theme doesn’t matter to you? The regular Pro 3 does the same job for $10 less, and the regular Ultimate 3 saves you $20 and skips the metal D-pad and Dual Force Ring.