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Xbox has taken a definitive stance by instituting a new policy that will block the use of unauthorized accessories with its consoles, effective as of November 17.
This decision has already begun to reverberate amongst the gaming community, and many have already had a warning about it on their consoles in the form of error message 0x82d60002.
It's a big shift that's going to impact all those accessories that don't have the Xbox seal of approval. Made more apparent by Xbox redirecting the user to its own official storefront.
Our sources indicate that Microsoft is lifting restrictions on the ability for third-party hardware manufacturers to build wireless accessories for Xbox Series X|S devices.
Now, we're hearing that Microsoft does have an approval process for official third-party wireless controllers, and this new restriction may be a result of new security measures to put restrictions on inputs that could circumvent play or inject unfair advantages.
The downside, of course, is that Xbox's new policy is affecting many "fair" accessories, particularly in the case of fighting game joysticks and other similar accessories.
The problem seems to revolve around brands that haven't acquired this licensing but still market their products as compatible with Xbox. It appears that Microsoft is actively blocking these items.
I've never been one to play competitive online games since I have the hand/ eye coordination of a house plant, so I can't weigh in on the advantages of blocking controllers that are "unfair"; but as someone who hated button mashing "A" in Animal Crossing, I can say that custom controllers can definitely have a place with a console.
In my opinion, this feels like Microsoft simply wanted more licensing money and is doing it under the guise of fair online play. It reminds me of Apple locking faster charging and data transfer on USB-C to their own proprietary USB cables.
Hopefully this does not negatively affect too many people.
One thing that kinda sprang to mind was accessible controllers. Ik Microsoft makes one and I’m sure there’s some approved but my thoughts are what if it doesn’t serve your needs
I’m tired so hopefully this makes sense
I wonder if QuadStick has approval. Specifically designed for people with minimal to no hand function, which their controller isn’t going to fucking work for.
Given it's advertised on Microsoft's page for the Adaptive Controller I'm going to guess yes.
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller