Thrustmaster's new LED modules mean my controller is now cooler than yours

Thrustmaster eSwap X Pro LED — (Image credit: Future)

Thrustmaster's new LED modules for the eSwap X Pro controller give your controller new life by adding jazzy, bright-light packs.

New 'LED Crystal' packs are now readily available for the controller and change it from a sleek, gunmetal weapon into a jazzy, coolier-than-thou game pad.

With the eSwap X Pro already an accomplished Xbox and PC controller, offering a serious level of flexibility and customisation options, the ability to interchange the aesthetics of the controller, and choose from a growing menu of choices, is a great USP for the pad. These two new additions to the family are simply called the Orange Crystal Pack and the Blue Crystal Pack.

However, having used them for a few days now, I think more accurate names would be 'Bright Bastard Orange' and 'Cool AF Blue'. They are genuinely bright as soon as you slot them into the controller. As long as the firmware is up to date, it'll illuminate before your very eyes in an instant. And while RGB and lighting on gaming gear has come full circle, and can still be very garish or distasteful, the lighting provided by the Thrustmaster LED packs genuinely looks - and hear me out - cool. And you can manage the lighting - just like almost any other feature of the controller - in the aptly, on-brand named 'Thrustmapper software', to choose between three levels of brightness.

Now, the LED packs will set you back a small investment: there's a listing price of $50 / £50, and the current price of the controller is its list price of $160 / just over £160 so it'll be a lot to bundle up right now. On top of that, stock of the LED packs is fluctuating wildly right now, and we're already seeing some higher-than-retail prices, which is a shame.

But coming at just the right time for those who were looking to the Black Friday Xbox controller deals to brighten, freshen, or upgrade their gamepad setup on either Xbox consoles or PC, these packs are stylish and will offer something other pads just cannot.

If you need to know more about the controller itself, then I should direct you to my full Thrustmaster eSwap X Pro review. However, in short, the Thrustmaster eSwap X Pro controller is absolutely one of the best Xbox series X accessories you can get and will be a tremendous Xbox Series X companion or one of the best PC controllers you can buy in its own right - LED jazz or no.

Unfortunately, there's no real deal on the controller itself right now - though we're definitely expecting that to change come winter sales time - but you can see the latest price for it, wherever you are, below, as well as for those of other Xbox controller contenders that are worthy of your attention if you're in the market for a new pad.

Looking for other Xbox Series X gear? Check out our guide to the best Xbox Series X headset as well as our guides to the best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X and best 120Hz 4K TV.

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Rob is the Managing Editor of sister site, TechRadar Gaming, and has been in the games and tech industry for nearly a decade. Prior to a stint as Gaming Editor at WePC in 2023, Rob was the Commissioning Editor for Hardware at GamesRadar+ for two years, and was on the hardware team for more than four years, since its inception in late 2018. He is also a writer on games and has had work published over the last nine years or so at the likes of Eurogamer, RockPaperShotgun, PCGN, and more. He is also a keen golfer and reviewer of golf watches and tech, and a qualified landscape and garden designer, the latter enabling him to be an expert on the virtual landscapes and environments of games.