The saga of the Starfield Xbox controller has been going on for months, but we now have our best confirmation yet that the sleek retro-sci-fi-styled gamepad is potentially real and coming this summer. It might just be my favorite-looking Xbox Series X/S controller yet.
The special edition peripheral was first spotted back in April via photographs uploaded to Imgur that seemed linked to a user in China, possibly someone close to the manufacturing or shipping operation responsible for making it. Then in late May, dataminer and product leaker dataminer billbil-kun reported that the Starfield controller would be priced at $80 and announced alongside a similarly-themed headset at the June 11 Xbox Showcase (via VGC).
That brings us to June 2, when an image of a finished, boxed unit appeared on Reddit and was later shared on Twitter by Xbox gaming news account Idle Sloth.
Some fans are still skeptical that it might all be an elaborate fake, in part because it just looks too damn good. At the same time, Microsoft has a history of going all out on special controller designs for its blockbuster exclusives. The Forza Horizon 5 limited edition gamepad was especially inspired and I’m still kicking myself that I never bought one.
I’m not going to make the same mistake with the Starfield one. It’s much subtler and I love the grey flight UI overlay and retro rainbow colorway. As I wrote on Twitter, it doesn’t matter if Biden restarts student loan payments or my kids need new sneakers—I’m finding room in the budget. I’m also curious to see if the matching headset has a similar aesthetic.
Starfield, meanwhile, arrives on September 6. Unless it gets delayed again, of course.
Update 6/2/2023 2:57 p.m. ET: Some more images of the box the controller comes in have seemingly leaked, including descriptions on the back.
Update 6/6/2023 11:09 a.m. ET: The leaks just keep coming. Fans are now discovering the controller on store shelves ahead of Microsoft’s showcase:
And here’s the headset:
Update 6/6/2023 12:59 p.m. ET: Keep’em coming:
Update 6/7/2023 4:01 p.m. ET: Starfield Xbox controller watch continues and oh my god it’s shipping with a god damn Duracell battery instead of a rechargeable one (which is normal, but still).