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If you plan to design your own Xbox controller ahead of the Xbox Series X and S launch on November 10, you might want to act fast. Microsoft will temporarily close its Xbox Design Lab on October 14.
Announced in 2016, Xbox Design Lab brings a lot of flexibility and personal style to the Xbox One controller. For $ 80, you have access to more than 40 different color options for the various parts of the controller, adding up to more than a million different combinations in total.
A couple of years ago, I designed one for a close friend and was amazed at how much customization it could do; It didn’t look like he was creating another color variant, but a truly unique custom product. My friend loved it and told me they thought I bought a rare controller online.
But from October 14 until sometime in 2021, Microsoft says the service will be “temporarily offline so we can bring you some updates.” The company did not say why or exactly when in 2021 the service will be back online, but Microsoft is likely preparing to expand the service to include customization features for the new Xbox controller.
Unlike the PS5’s DualSense controller, which strays from the DualShock series design in terms of design and color scheme, the new Xbox Series X and S controller has a fairly familiar layout. Microsoft says that the “size and shape of the controller have been refined to fit an even wider range of people”, making it slightly smaller than its predecessor. The new Xbox controller also includes a redesigned D-Pad and a dedicated share button.
