Microsoft's legendary Xbox 360 controller is being resurrected

If you like retro gaming, then you’ll probably be excited to learn that there’s going to be a return for the classic Xbox 360 controller, and it’ll be compatible with new consoles as well as PCs.

Here's a short video documenting the complete history of one of the world's favourite games consoles:

OK, so ‘retro’ in this case doesn’t exactly refer to something that came out years and years ago.

After all, the Xbox 360 only came out in 2005 – on exactly November 22, as it happens – so it’s hardly a classic Super Nintendo or an Atari console, but it’s still cool to have a little throwback every now and then, right?

In fact, if the Xbox 360 was a person, it would be celebrating it’s 17^th birthday today.

That 17^th anniversary is why the new/old console controller is coming out in the first place with gaming company Hyperkin announcing their new design.

It’s called the Xenon – a nod to the first ever Xbox 360 codename amongst Microsoft staff – and as you can see it’s almost identical to the controller that would have come out of the box in 2005 when the Xbox 360 was first bought.

Oh, and it's licensed by Xbox, so you know it is legit.

Hyperkin

There are a few slight differences to this, but they’re mainly to bring it up to speed with the new consoles that are out there.

Firstly, there are Menu, View, and Share buttons just to work with the more modern Xbox machines.

There, as well as that there's a 3.5mm headphone jack socket and a detachable USB-C cable for charging.

No, you won't have to used the battery packs that they used to have in the old ones.

If the white version isn’t your thing, you’ll be able to get the controller in black, red, and pink as well.

We aren’t sure when it will be available yet, or what it will cost, but if the recent Hyperkin remake of the iconic Duke controller is anything to go by, we’ll be looking at around $70.

The Xenon controller will work with your Xbox One, Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S consoles, as well as any Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, so there’s something out there for even those who aren’t console gamers.

Hyperkin

Again, we’re not sure when the controller will be released or what price point it will arrive at, but we’re guessing at that $70 mark and that the release will be at some point next year.

Anyway, if you’re after a piece of retro gear that will still work with all of your favourite current stuff, you’re probably exactly the kind of person that this bit of kit is aimed at.

So, when there’s an update on when it’s out, we’ll let you know.