Fresh photos of what appears to be an XBOX Elite 3 prototype have surfaced, and this time there’s a new detail we didn’t see in the earlier leak. The controller has a small built-in screen that appears to be tied to its cloud gaming mode.
The photos were posted on Reddit by someone who says they bought the controller through OfferUp. The Verge examined the images and found that one screen appears to show the XCloud rocket icon beside an XBOX Series X. Another image displays a URL connected to a restricted Microsoft cloud resource.
That immediately connects the prototype with the XBOX Elite 3 leak we covered in May, when regulatory images first showed a controller capable of switching between a local connection and XBOX Cloud Gaming.
The Screen Matches The Cloud Mode Leak From May
The May leak showed a new pair button that could switch the controller between a normal console connection and a direct connection to XBOX Cloud Gaming servers. It also included diagrams showing the controller moving between local and cloud modes.
What we didn’t see at the time was a screen.
The display on this newly surfaced prototype appears to use an interface similar to those earlier diagrams. The XCloud icon shown in one of the photos makes the connection especially interesting, although Microsoft hasn’t publicly explained what the screen is designed to do.
That means we shouldn’t assume the final controller will use the display specifically for switching cloud modes. Still, the prototype gives us a clearer look at how a built-in display could show connection information directly on the controller.
The earlier regulatory material also showed bottom scroll wheels, a removable battery and other changes from the current XBOX Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. Those features appear again on the newly photographed hardware.
The XBOX Elite 3 Is Still Unannounced
There are plenty of signs that this isn’t retail hardware.
The controller carries markings indicating it isn’t for sale, along with placeholder regulatory information. The person who bought it also says the controller currently doesn’t connect over a cable or wirelessly, so the cloud features shown in the earlier documentation can’t be tested on this unit as it stands.
Microsoft still hasn’t announced an XBOX Elite 3, and we don’t have a confirmed name, price or release date. We also don’t know whether the small screen seen on this prototype will survive into whatever version eventually reaches stores. Microsoft’s current official controller material continues to list the XBOX Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 rather than an Elite Series 3.
What these new photos do give us is another piece of the hardware picture. The May leak showed Microsoft experimenting with a controller that could connect directly to XBOX Cloud Gaming. Now we have prototype hardware that appears to add a screen to that same idea.
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