Leaked Images Show New Built-in Screen on Xbox Elite Series 3 Controller

We’ve just had an interesting new look at Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Series 3 controller as a Reddit user (via The Verge) posted new pictures of a prototype device they claimed to have bought on the online marketplace OfferUp. While the post has since been removed from Reddit, the new images reveal a built-in screen that wasn’t visible in the first leaked pictures published by Anatel, Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency, back in May.

These first leaked pictures revealed a redesigned D-Pad, two new scroll wheels at the bottom near the headphone jack, and a removable battery. One picture also showed a pill-shaped interface with a Pair button that lets gamers switch between Local Mode and Cloud Mode. The latter will presumably offer better latency when playing cloud-enabled games by connecting the controller directly to Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming server, similar to how Google’s Stadia controller used to work.

Well, we can now see in these newly leaked pictures that this pairing interface will be accessible via a tiny built-in screen on top of the controller, right below its USB-C charging port. The Pair button is on the left, but it looks like this screen will be able to show more than the Local Mode and Cloud Mode icons. One of the new leaked pictures shows what resembles the Xbox Cloud Gaming loading screen with a spaceship flying towards an Xbox console. Another picture shows a shortened URL linking to a Microsoft webpage that’s currently not functional.

The pictures posted by the Redditor show a different D-pad design than the one previously seen in the Anatel leak. Another picture of the battery compartment also reveals Torx T6 screws, which may signal a more repairable design than previous Xbox Elite controllers.

The Redditor made it clear that this Xbox Elite Series 3 prototype wasn’t functional. “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 said in a comment that’s since been deleted by a moderator.

According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, Microsoft currently plans to release this new Xbox Elite controller before the end of the year. Microsoft announced the Series 2 version back in June 2019 and later showed it at gamescom. It will be interesting to see if the Xbox team will use its presence at the annual trade show in Cologne, Germany, to announce the new controller.