SteelSeries debuts the $79.99 Rival 500 MOBA mouse with flick-down thumb switches

SteelSeries designed a new mouse for MOBA/MMO gamers that replaces the traditional 12-button grid with a "next-gen layout" that includes a rest area for your thumb as well as two "flick-down" switches. The company promises this approach delivers greater ease of use. In total, the Rival 500 features 15 buttons and it has a palm rest area with tactile feedback.

Inside the Rival 500 is a PixArt PMW3360 optical sensor, adjustable in CPI from 100 to 16,000 and with zero hardware acceleration. The mouse buttons can be programmed via the included software, which offers the usual profile management. Furthermore, users with a 3D printer can easily make customized nameplates as SteelSeries provides the necessary 3D files.

The mouse is available on the company's website for $79.99 (89.99EUR).

SteelSeries, leader and innovator in gaming peripherals, announces the availability of the Rival 500, a revolutionary multi-button gaming mouse that was designed from the ground up around the gamer’s thumb and hand movements to increase efficiency, accuracy, and performance.

“The Rival 500 is the first true multi-button gaming mouse engineered to maximize gaming efficiency, while keeping the gamers movement and comfort in mind,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries CEO. “We created a MOBA/MMO mouse that fits your hand and not the other way around.”

Intuitive Design
SteelSeries’ Rival 500 reimagines the traditional multi-button grid layout by incorporating natural hand movements into the design. Engineered for comfort and performance, it replaces the squeezed buttons in a grid format with a Next-Gen side-button layout that makes identifying, clicking and combo clicking precise and easy. The Rival 500 showcases gaming’s first flick down switches, the fastest way to make a move since it responds to your thumbs natural flick motion instead of having to press it.

Tactile Alerts
The Rival 500 gaming mouse features SteelSeries’ innovative tactile alert technology, transforming it from an input-only device to a weapon that gives feedback to help dominate opponents. Gamers can fully customize and feel in-game events and alerts through subtle pulses, helping them make split-second decisions during crucial times. The Rival 500 can notify gamers when cooldowns are up, ammo is out, health is low, or any other important-to-the-gamer in-game action occurs.

Maximum Personalization
SteelSeries Rival 500 is armed with the Pixart 3360, the most advanced optical sensor available, with up to 16,000 CPI, and offers maximum customization through the SteelSeries Engine application. Gamers can personalize the functions of all 15 individual buttons, select RGB illumination patterns with millions of colors and lighting effects, and even optimize intensity of tactile alerts and select vibration patterns.

The Rival 500 offers extreme durability with a reinforced key design that evenly distributes the force of each click, achieving a 30 million key-press rating. In addition to long-lasting durability, the new key design delivers a more consistent click feeling than ever before.