A $200 OfferUp purchase has apparently landed someone an Xbox controller that Microsoft never released. That’s the story from a Redditor, at least, and the prototype gamepad in their photos looks legitimate enough to warrant a second look. Odds are strong it’s the Xbox Elite Series 3.
Forget the bargain price tag for a moment. The real story is the compact display embedded in the face of the pad, something nobody had laid eyes on until today.
What’s on that display
Zoom in on the screen of Redditor ssuberlex’s controller and, unless my eyes are deceiving me, the XCloud rocket ship icon is sitting beside an Xbox Series X. In other words, a mode switcher baked into the hardware itself.
That’s a near-perfect match for May’s leaked diagram, which depicted the mode switch dialogue with a pair button positioned on the left.
It also offers a credible answer to something the May leak never resolved: the location of the new “Pair Button.” Best guess now is that it sits directly beside the display.
The detail that makes this hard to fake
One of the other photos shows a URL on the screen. Following it lands on a Microsoft cloud resource that I lack the permissions to open. Hoaxers rarely go to that kind of trouble, which adds a layer of credibility to the whole set of images.
Now for the downside for the person out $200: the unit is effectively dead weight. “It does not pair with an Xbox nor with a cable. Just the red light blinking but doesn’t do any thing wired or wireless,” they wrote.
Back to May, and what we already knew
Images leaked through a Brazilian regulator back in May indicated the Xbox Elite 3 would arrive with two new scroll wheels along the bottom edge, a secondary wireless mode for connecting straight to Xbox Cloud Gaming servers, and a fresh “Pair Button” capable of toggling between those servers and your console.
These photos corroborate all of it. Visible in the shots are the new scroll wheels, four rear paddles, the battery compartment and the carrying case.
Something has shifted since May, however. The detachable D-pad on this unit sports a different design from the one shown in that earlier leak. According to the Redditor, the triggers also click when locked into the hair-trigger position.
The battery compartment is the sleeper story
Screen aside, the most interesting shot is the one taken inside the battery compartment, where there’s a QR code, presumably linking to a repair website, plus Torx T6 screws that are easy to get at.
It looks like Microsoft has put real thought into making this pad repairable at home. Coming from a company whose controllers have traditionally been pry-them-open-at-your-own-risk affairs, that matters more than any display.
Treat all of it as provisional
Nothing here is confirmed. This is plainly a prototype, and it says so: “NOT FOR SALE” is printed on both the pad and its removable 5.8 watt-hour battery, along with a slew of placeholder ID numbers for assorted regulatory bodies.
Features get axed from prototypes all the time. Displays cost money, and one whose sole purpose is flipping between cloud and console is precisely the sort of component that doesn’t survive a cost review.
Microsoft expert Tom Warren has said his sources believe the controller is still on track for later this year. Gamescom looks like the natural venue for a reveal. Anyone currently considering an Elite Series 2 has good reason to hold off for a few weeks before handing over the cash.