Leaked photos of a prototype Xbox controller show a small built-in screen — a feature that has not appeared in any previous leak of what is almost certainly the Xbox Elite Series 3.
A Redditor posted the images on r/Controller, saying they bought the pad for $200 on OfferUp. The controller carries “NOT FOR SALE” labels on both the pad and its removable battery, placeholder numbers for various regulatory bodies, and it does not work: “It does not pair with an Xbox nor with a cable. Just the red light blinking but doesn’t do any thing wired or wireless.”
What the Elite 3 prototype adds
The screen is the new part. May’s leak, via Brazil’s regulator Anatel, showed the Elite 3 with two scroll wheels on the bottom edge, a second wireless mode that connects directly to Xbox Cloud Gaming servers, and a pair button that switches between cloud servers and your console. The new photos put that button next to the built-in display, and the screen matches the mode-switch diagram from May’s filing.
In one shot it shows the xCloud rocket ship beside an Xbox Series X; in another, a URL pointing at an internal Microsoft cloud page — the kind of detail that suggests a real prototype, not a render.
Battery, paddles and a new D-pad
The photos also show four rear paddles, a detachable D-pad different from May’s design, and a carrying case. The owner says the triggers are clicky when locked to the hair-trigger position.
Inside the battery compartment sits a removable 1,528mAh pack — smaller than the Elite 2’s 2,050mAh, per Windows Central — plus a QR code that presumably leads to a repair page and accessible Torx T6 screws. Microsoft has made the battery replaceable, if not bigger.
When will the Xbox Elite 3 launch?
Nothing is confirmed. Tom Warren, The Verge’s Microsoft reporter, says his sources believe the controller is still coming later this year — a window that covers Gamescom, which runs 26–30 August in Cologne. Microsoft’s next console is still on track for 2027, per AMD’s CEO, and Elite controllers have historically carried across generations.
There is no price or release date for the Elite 3 yet; the Elite Series 2 it replaces remains on sale in the UAE.
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What is the Xbox Elite Series 3?
Microsoft’s next premium controller, the successor to the 2019 Elite Series 2. Leaks point to a tiny built-in screen, a removable battery and a direct Xbox Cloud Gaming mode.
How much will the Xbox Elite Series 3 cost in the UAE?
Microsoft hasn’t said. For reference, the Elite Series 2 it replaces sells in the UAE from about AED 427 for the Core edition to about AED 740 for the full kit on Amazon.ae.
Will the Xbox Elite 3 work with the next Xbox?
Likely. Elite controllers have carried across generations, and Microsoft’s next console is reportedly on track for 2027.
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