Midnight Black and Cosmic Red PS5 DualSense controllers coming in June

Two new PS5 DualSense controllers featuring Midnight Black and Cosmic Red color schemes will be released next month.

Sony unveiled the new controllers via the PlayStation Blog. PS5 owners have been making their own custom DualSense colors since the new console was released, but these are the first official DualSense variants. They're expected to arrive on June 11, but exact release dates "will vary by location, so check your local retailers for availability," Sony advised. Curiously, the red DualSense is slightly more expensive at $74.99, while the classic black is the usual $69.99. Hopefully it's easier to get a hold of these compared to the still-daunting process it takes to actually buy a PS5. 

The default PlayStation controller has long been all-black, so the new Midnight Black DualSense will likely be comfortingly familiar for many. The matte black plates are subtly distinguished from the slick black base, and where the default white DualSense uses greyed out buttons, here the face buttons have been redone to match the original PlayStation colors. It does feel good to see that blue X again. 

Cosmic Red, meanwhile, is a slightly rosy red from top-to-bottom. Space was the main theme for the two colors, Sony says, with Midnight Black reflecting the night sky and Cosmic Red echoing the red clouds, stars, and other anomalies sometimes seen in the cosmos. 

We'll undoubtedly see more DualSense colors in the months and years ahead, and I suspect that the release of these two will only increase demand for color variants of the console itself. Many players like to match their consoles and controllers, after all. We know that Sony isn't against the idea of new PS5 colors, though it has gone after some third-party colored plates for the console, but it hasn't hinted at any immediate plans for the option either. 

Games are doing some cool stuff with the DualSense. Here's a look at how Horizon Forbidden West uses its haptic features.