There's admittedly a lot of frustration within the Xbox community at the moment, but if there's one thing we can all (hopefully) get behind, it's the company's efforts when it comes to the creation of new accessibility devices.
During its Gamescom livestream yesterday, Xbox's accessibility team revealed four new offerings (including the Xbox Adaptive Joystick) as part of its "mission" to make gaming accessible for more than 425 million players with disabilities worldwide. These new options were created "in partnership with the Gaming & Disability community and nonprofit organizations".
Apart from the Adaptive Joystick, the new offerings include 3D printable files for adaptive thumbstick toppers (available now with Xbox Design Lab), and two "Designed for Xbox controllers" - including the previously revealed ByoWave Proteus Controller and also 8BitDo's Lite SE 2.4G Wireless Controller.
These products even come with accessible packaging, inspired by feedback from the Gaming and Disability community. It's also noted how Xbox has applied these insights to "redesign and improve the accessibility of the packaging for the three new Xbox Series X|S console options".
"Gaming with a disability is highly individualistic, and we will continue to invest in Xbox’s accessibility offerings – taking into account feedback from the millions of players with disabilities from around the world. Whether using an Xbox Adaptive Joystick, 3D printable files for adaptive thumbstick toppers, or one of the Designed for Xbox’s controllers, we are excited to offer even more choices that allow players with disabilities to customize their gaming setups and enhance their gaming experience with Xbox."
The Xbox Adaptive Joystick launches "early 2025" in "select Xbox markets worldwide" and will be sold through the Microsoft Store for $29.99 USD (or the regional equivalent). The 8BitDo Lite SE controller is available now for $59.99 USD and the ByoWave Proteus Controller is also available now for $299 USD.
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