Fresh leaks appearing online may have given players their first proper look at Microsoft’s long-rumoured Xbox Elite Series 3 controller, and it looks like the company is making some surprisingly big changes to its premium pad.
Images reportedly pulled from Brazil’s Anatel regulatory agency began circulating this week, showing what appears to be the successor to the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. The leaks were first highlighted by Brazilian outlet Tecnoblog before spreading across sites including The Verge and GameSpot.
The most eye-catching addition is a pair of small scroll wheel-style controls positioned underneath the controller near the headset jack. Their exact purpose remains unclear, though several reports speculate they could be designed for functions like chat balancing, weapon cycling, or flight controls in games such as Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The leaked hardware also appears to include a dedicated cloud gaming switch, letting players swap between local console mode and direct Wi-Fi cloud connectivity. That would potentially reduce latency when using Xbox Cloud Gaming, similar to how Google’s old Stadia controller connected directly to servers rather than routing through a console or Bluetooth device.
Xbox Elite Controller 3 (image: Tecnoblog)
Another notable change is the battery setup. Unlike the current Elite Series 2, which uses a built-in rechargeable battery, the leaked controller appears to feature a removable rechargeable battery pack. Reports suggest the capacity may actually be smaller than the Elite 2’s battery, but the trade-off is easier replacement and potentially hot-swapping during longer play sessions.
Elsewhere, the controller largely sticks to the familiar Elite formula, with interchangeable thumbsticks, rear paddles, adjustable triggers, and rubberised grips all seemingly returning. The face buttons and D-pad appear slightly redesigned too, although Microsoft has yet to officially confirm any of the leaked features.
Online reaction has been mixed so far. While many players are excited to finally see a new Elite controller after years of rumours, others are more focused on durability concerns. In Reddit discussions following the leak, several users pointed to issues with bumper failures and peeling grips on previous Elite models, saying reliability matters more than adding extra features.
Microsoft hasn’t announced the controller publicly, but with certification images already surfacing online, speculation is growing that a formal reveal could happen during the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase on June 7.
Authored by
Paul McNally
Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title. Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows. Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm.
Bulkhead Interactive has announced it is moving WARDOGS' early access release forward, with the tactical FPS now targeting a launch later this summer. The studio cited overwhelmingly positive feedback from…
