Microsoft, ByoWave Team Up on New Modular Xbox Controller

Microsoft's new Proteus controller is a modular peripheral that can be customized to nearly any need. You can pre-order it now for $255 before it goes up to $299 later.

Microsoft worked with ByoWave through its Designed for Xbox program to create the device. It feels like a follow-up to Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive controller but with several improvements.

For starters, it comes with everything you need right out of the box. The Adaptive controller has just two programmable buttons, a D-pad, a few base Xbox buttons, and connection points to add anything else you need to complete the controller. But gamers had to buy joysticks, additional buttons, or switches to connect the device.

The Proteus, on the other hand, includes all the parts necessary to make a complete controller, focused around a modular snap system that lets you customize it to various combinations and shapes. Some pictures show one-handed controller play, while others almost look like a compact standard Xbox controller.

At $300, it does have a higher up-front cost than the Adaptive controller. And it only works with the Xbox currently, not the PS5 or Switch.

Microsoft, for its part, also announced a firmware update for the six-year-old Adaptive controller that will allow gamers to connect even more buttons, sticks, and hat switches to the two USB ports. That firmware update is free and will roll out to Xbox Insiders in the coming weeks.

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This follows a trend of companies working harder to make devices more accessible, like Sony's customizable controller. Yesterday, Apple also announced that eye tracking is coming to the iPad and iPhone later this year.

"Designed for users with physical disabilities, Eye Tracking uses the front-facing camera to set up and calibrate in seconds, and with on-device machine learning, all data used to set up and control this feature is kept securely on device, and isn’t shared with Apple," it says.