Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 debuts with a video that hardware fetishists may want to watch in private

The Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 is the long-awaited second coming of Microsoft's premium control accessory. Revealed at the Microsoft E3 2019 stage with a video that would make any hardware junkie go into joyful convulsions, it looks like it has pretty much everything people have been asking for since the original Xbox Elite Controller came out: more customization options, fully wrapped rubberized grips, and - yes - native Bluetooth support, to name a few.

In fact, the sizzle trailer listed so many upgrades that I'd better just list them all out here:

  • Adjustable-tension thumbsticks
  • New trigger grip and bumpers
  • Even shorter fire ranges for the hair trigger lock option
  • More thumbsticks and paddles
  • Three built-in custom profiles (complete with their own light-up LEDs)
  • An internal, rechargeable battery that gives up to 40 hours per charge
  • A detachable charging dock built into the case

The Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 is available for pre-orders right now at a steep price of $179. That's $30 more than the first iteration of Elite Controllers, but it does look like you're getting en even better product for the bigger buy. Can you put a price on getting to tweak your own thumbsticks' springiness with a little dedicated tool, and keeping your controller charged up right inside its own swanky carrying case? I mean, yes, of course you can put a price on all of those things, but it probably is at least $179.99.

Stay tuned to all of our E3 2019 coverage for more developments as they happen from the show, or watch our latest Release Radar video to see more of what's on the way in games and entertainment this week.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.