Orbital Reworks Pathfinder Gaming Mouse: Modular Switches, New MCU, Magnesium Wheel

The Orbital Pathfinder is one of the more unique gaming mice out there, owing to its modular, highly configurable design and high-performance internals. Now, more than a year after the mouse first launched, Orbital has announced an updated version of the Pathfinder with refreshed internals, additional modularity and shapes, and an updated scroll wheel in a new special edition clear shell. The new Pathfinder: Ghost also gets a lower starting price, retailing for $149 instead of $189 for the base mouse and exploration kit, with a $29 expansion kit, starting on April 30—however, it will be a made-to-order one-time production run. The brand has also confirmed that the expansion set will be available separately for the black version, suggesting that the improvements will be brought forward into the mainline Pathfinder base kit as well.

[Editor’s note: Our in-depth review of the Orbital Pathfinder is now live]

The new Pathfinder operates on the same modular philosophy as the original version but with new materials and additional options. Orbital has introduced four new shapes—the interchangeable attachments that allow you to change the shape of the Pathfinder—thereby expanding the number of configurations to over 5,000. The brand has also updated the PCB, which now supports modular switches and is based on the Nordic nRF54L15 MCU, and the mag-alloy scroll wheel has also been redesigned, although it’s unclear what exactly the changes there are. To celebrate the launch, Orbital has also created a Special Edition version of the Pathfinder that’s made from a “clear plastic alloy,” likely composed of some mixture of polycarbonate.