Razer’s Kishi V2 was a marked improvement on the original Kishi mobile controller, and now, thanks to a firmware update to the controller itself, and an update to Razer’s Nexus app, it’s getting even more versatile.
For anyone using a Kishi V2 with Android, a new Virtual Controller feature in the Nexus app will let you map physical button presses on the controller to touchscreen taps in games that don’t offer controller support, allowing you to make even more of the Play Store’s expansive library playable with a joystick waggle.
Virtual Controller Beta
Despite the growing popularity of mobile controller attachments like the Razer Kishi V2 or the Backbone One, there’s a huge number of games for iOS and Android that still rely on touch-based, on-screen controls. Genshin Impact, one of the most popular mobile games out there, still doesn’t offer controller support on Android. The Virtual Controller beta — and Razer stresses it is a beta — is designed to fix that.
With the feature enabled in the Razer Nexus app for Android and the Kishi V2 updated to the latest firmware, getting started is as simple as toggling on the Virtual Controller in the Nexus app’s settings and then hopping into Android settings to ensure your app permissions are all online After that, you can start mapping controls.
As it stands now, Razer’s Virtual Controller is best suited for touchscreen games with on-screen controls that stay in the same place, as opposed to apps that rely on gestures and swipes. That could change in future versions of the app and the official release of the feature, but keep that in mind for now.
The best gaming hardware is flexible
Besides acting as a nice bonus for existing Kishi V2 owners, the Virtual Controller beta will also be available on Razer’s upcoming Razer Edge handheld, which technically uses a version of the company’s controller called the Razer Kishi V2 Pro.
Razer has not offered specific timing for if or when the iOS-compatible Kishi V2 will be available to pull off the same touchscreen-fooling tricks but consider the feature’s existence as a positive trend. Mobile games are already popular, but if we really are heading towards a future where smartphone games and game streaming are the way most people get their interactive fix, having accessories that are as flexible as possible is a necessity.