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Xbox has taken a definitive stance by instituting a new policy that will block the use of unauthorized accessories with its consoles, effective as of November 17.
This decision has already begun to reverberate amongst the gaming community, and many have already had a warning about it on their consoles in the form of error message 0x82d60002.
It’s a big shift that’s going to impact all those accessories that don’t have the Xbox seal of approval. Made more apparent by Xbox redirecting the user to its own official storefront.
Our sources indicate that Microsoft is lifting restrictions on the ability for third-party hardware manufacturers to build wireless accessories for Xbox Series X|S devices.
Now, we’re hearing that Microsoft does have an approval process for official third-party wireless controllers, and this new restriction may be a result of new security measures to put restrictions on inputs that could circumvent play or inject unfair advantages.
The downside, of course, is that Xbox’s new policy is affecting many “fair” accessories, particularly in the case of fighting game joysticks and other similar accessories.
The problem seems to revolve around brands that haven’t acquired this licensing but still market their products as compatible with Xbox. It appears that Microsoft is actively blocking these items.
Do they realize this may be the only way some people can legally play the games? I can imagine lots of disabilities that only let people play with a niche controller
Yeah but xbox wants them to buy the xbox accessibility controller.
Fuck that, third party controllers have always been a thing. Such a dumb hill they wanna die on.
That also reeks of not fully understanding accessibility needs though. Does it allow breath input for example? https://www.quadstick.com
100% it’s a total moneygrab.
At the detriment of those who struggle the most already - those who need special equipment, and those who can’t afford official ctrls.
I bet they also won’t approve controllers designed to work on other consoles/devices as well. Necessitating getting one accessibility controller for your xbox and one for everything else.
Microsoft makes some very good quality adaptive controller accessories. IMO that still doesn’t make this move OK, but at least disabled people still have a supported option.
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller
For some disabled people. Microsoft can’t create a universally accessible controller that works for every disability.