// PC GAMER — GAMING
2026 is the year big brands have finally pushed gaming mouse technology forwards
I'm not sure niche brands would be able to change the industry like this.
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This week I've been: trying out the X3 Superstrike and Sensei Pro gaming mice, as well as a new Logitech Hall effect keyboard.
What comes to mind when I say 'big brand competitive gaming mouse'? If you're anything like me, that particular Rorschach test will make you spit out the word 'expensive.' That response isn't wrong, either: just look at the big releases we've had this year.
There was the Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike: $180. The Razer Viper V4 Pro: $160. The SteelSeries Rival Pro and Sensei Pro: each $180. And there's an X3 Superstrike now, too, which is $200. These are some very expensive mice.
In previous years, I would have taken a dimmer view of this. Especially given the impressively competitive rodents you can pick up from niche Chinese brands these days. The $89 Mchose K7 V2 Ultra+, for example, is a Razer Viper V3/V4 Pro clone that performs very well and is plenty comfy.
And to be honest, even if fancy big brand mice are top-tier build quality, it's still a heck of a lot of money to ask for. The Rival Pro, Sensei Pro, and Viper V4 Pro specifically are truly fantastic on the build quality front, with the latter being practically flawless and cheaper than the rest, but they're all still very expensive.
So why isn't my view quite as dim as it could be? Because all of these releases have pushed the competitive gaming mouse scene forward in a way that probably only big brands can—both in terms of being able to absorb risk and also get new tech into as many hands as possible with big marketing campaigns.
In the case of Logitech, we have probably the most radical tech of all three: haptic-inductive (analogue) clicks. Then there's Razer, which has changed the way the sensor reports its data to save battery. And SteelSeries offers a few new things: primarily ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless connectivity and some changes to how it does polling (there are hot-swappable batteries, too, but those aren't completely new).
Analogue clicks let you adjust where the mouse button actuates, meaning you can have less time between deciding to click and actually clicking. It also lets you use rapid trigger, where you can re-click your mouse button as soon as you start to lift up on your previous click.