What do you want to know
- The Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 is Microsoft’s premium Xbox gamepad with a range of additional features.
- Recently, I heard that Microsoft might be planning to release some sort of new Elite controller for the 2022 holiday season.
- Today, a new Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 “White Edition” was unearthed on YouTube, potentially giving us a preview of the next product release.
A short time ago, I understood that there could be some sort of new Xbox Elite controller on the way, slated for the 2022 holiday season. While I haven’t had a huge amount of detail to go beyond that, we may have previewed on Twitter this week.
For those unaware, the Xbox Elite Controller is Microsoft’s premium Xbox gamepad. The current version is the Xbox Elite Series 2 Controllerand it comes with a crazy 40+ hour built-in battery, a powerful and convenient high-quality charging station, four configurable rear paddles, trigger locks for faster activation, and various other features for power users.
@Mr_Rebs_ on Twitter came across this interesting YouTube video from a few weeks ago this seems to detail a new white edition Xbox Elite Controller Series 2, which replaces the main charcoal faceplate with a white veneer that possibly matches the Xbox series S a little better than the current version.
Although the design is a little hard to see, the packaging and the controller itself look legit, with white buttons and lettering.
Now, it’s not impossible that something like this could be rigged, using parts from the Xbox Design Lab, but it would be weird to go that far to also create realistic retail packaging. The box has a product rendering that almost exactly matches the box art of the original black Elite Series 2, for example. The YouTube account in question only had one subscriber at the time of writing, and the video apparently went unnoticed until now over the past month.
I think there’s a good chance it’s real, and it’s indeed the Xbox Elite controller I’ve heard about that’s on sale this holiday season. I suspect that given this leak, we could get confirmation from Microsoft on both cases fairly quickly.
If the YouTube video mysteriously disappears, @Mr_Rebs_ has added a backup here.
There have been other rumors recently that an Xbox Elite Controller Series 3 could also be in the works, in addition to an official Xbox Forza steering wheel, both planned for next year. Considering that Sony has started to go further in high end gaming accessories lately with its InZone brand, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Microsoft double down in this area as well.
The Xbox Elite Controller line has remained popular in the face of what at least appears be high failure rates in the two existing versions. The original controller was plagued with an issue that caused the rubber grips to fall off after a few months. The new Elite Series 2 controller is also known to have flaws in the bumpers, being very susceptible to wear. I’ve owned three Elite controllers, and all of them failed in different ways. On the other hand, my 2013 “Day One” edition Xbox One controller still works to this day.
It’s a bit of a hard sell considering their price, usually around $180. Hopefully future releases can fix some of these build flaws, as these are truly the best controllers ever made otherwise.
Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller
The best Xbox controller. At least until it breaks.
With premium features, premium construction and premium details, the Series 2 also comes at a very premium price point. It might be the best controller ever, but flaws in the build frustrate the value proposition over time.