According to documents accidentally leaked by Microsoft during its trial with the FTC (spotted by The Verge), we got to peek at Xbox’s plans for the future, including a refreshed, disc-less version of the Xbox Series X and, more notable from the PC gaming perspective, a fancy new controller.
Codenamed Sebile, the new two-toned Xbox controller offers Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, “Direct-to-Cloud” pairing, and a rechargeable, swappable battery. Moreover, it will feature new modular thumbsticks. However, it’s unclear if that means just the joysticks or if you can pop out the entire joystick module like with the $200 PlayStation DualSense Edge wireless controller.
Inside the Sebile is an accelerometer, which is presumably the hardware that controls its new “lift to wake” feature. The controller will also have PlayStation DualSense-like haptics that “double as speakers” and a rechargeable battery, but unlike Sony’s controller, the battery will be swappable.
Other less exciting but welcome updates include quieter buttons, thumbsticks, and the use of recycled materials. And it seems like it uses the same D-pad as the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller.
The new controller will launch next year and retail for $70, assuming Microsoft’s information from the leak isn’t outdated.
Between this and our finding that Microsoft left 38TB of sensitive data exposed for 3 years, some of its employees will probably have to take data security refresher courses. The trial leak also revealed plans for a 2TB digital-only Xbox Series X console codenamed Brooklin—it kind of looks like a router, and definitely doesn’t look like a box anymore.
