A third-party Xbox controller based on developer Rare has been listed on Amazon, with an official reveal seemingly imminent.
As spotted by Reddit userCyraxxFavoriteStylus, the controller has beenlisted on Amazon’s US site, but at the time of writing has yet to be officially announced byMicrosoft,Rareor the controller’s manufacturer.
Rather than one of the numerous official first-partyXboxcontrollers released by Microsoft over the years, this 40th Anniversary Rare controller is instead made by 8BitDo.
The controller features Hall Effect sticks, ‘Pro Back Buttons’ and is compatible withXbox Series X/S,Xbox One,PC,AndroidandiOS.
The controller is also 8BitDo’s first ever 2.4G wireless Xbox controller, according to the manufacturer.
Last week 8BitDoteased on Xthat it would be revealing its “first wireless controller for Xbox”, with a reveal set for today.
August 4 is usually the day Rare uses for its anniversary celebrations, meaning an official reveal of the controller today (perhaps as well as other announcements) would make sense.
Five years ago, for its 35th anniversary, August 4 was the day Rare’s month-longSea of Thievesanniversary event started.
Before that, for its 30th anniversary, August 4 was the day its retro compilation Rare Replay was released. It appears, then, that this is the date Rare considers its official anniversary.
The company’s 40th anniversary celebrations come at a somewhat awkward time, given that last month Rare lost several veteran developers as part of widespread layoffs at Microsoft,which saw its long in-development project Everwild cancelled.
Sources then told VGC thatGregg Mayles, Rare’s most experienced and influential game designer,was leaving the company after more than 35 yearsfollowing the cancellation ofEverwild, along with executive producerLouise O’Connor, another Rare veteran whose first project was Conker’s Bad Fur Day forNintendo 64.
