A new Xbox Elite Controller may have leaked

What you need to know

• The Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 is Microsoft's premium Xbox gamepad with a range of additional features. 
• Recently, I heard Microsoft may be looking to launch some kind of new Elite controller for the 2022 holiday season. 
• Today, a new Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 "White Edition" was unearthed on YouTube, potentially giving us a look at the next version of the product. 

A little while ago, I heard that there may be some kind of new Xbox Elite Controller on the way, slated for the 2022 holiday season. Although I didn't have a huge amount of details to go on beyond that, we may have gotten a glimpse at it on Twitter this week. 

For those who are unaware, the Xbox Elite Controller is Microsoft's premium-tier Xbox gamepad. The current version is the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2, and it comes with an utterly insane 40+ hour built-in battery, a powerful and convenient high-quality charge dock, four configurable back paddles, trigger locks for more rapid activation, and various other power-user features. 

@Mr_Rebs_ on Twitter came across this interesting YouTube video from a few weeks ago, that appears to detail a new White Edition Xbox Elite Controller Series 2, which swaps out the charcoal main face plate for a white veneer that perhaps matches the Xbox Series S a little better than the current version. 

While the design is a little difficult to see, the packaging and controller itself seems to be legit, complete with white buttons and lettering. 

Now, it's not impossible for something like this to be faked, using parts from the Xbox Design Lab, but it would be odd to go to such lengths to also create a realistic retail packaging for it. The box has a product render that almost exactly matches the box art of the original black Elite Series 2, for example. The YouTube account in question only had one subscriber as of writing, and the video went seemingly unnoticed until today for the past month. 

I think there's a good chance that this is real, and it is indeed the Xbox Elite Controller that I heard is on the way for sale this holiday season. I suspect that given this leak, we may get confirmation from Microsoft either way fairly soon. 

If the YouTube video mysteriously disappears, @Mr_Rebs_ has added a backup here.

There have been other rumors recently that an Xbox Elite Controller Series 3 may be in the pipeline as well, in addition to an Xbox official Forza steering wheel, both slated for next year. Considering Sony has begun moving deeper into premium gaming accessories lately with its InZone brand, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Microsoft double down in this area as well. 

The Xbox Elite Controller line has remained popular in the face of what at least appears to be high failure rates across both existing versions. The original controller was plagued by an issue that caused the rubber grips to fall off after a few months. The new Elite Series 2 controller is also known to have flaws in the bumpers, being highly susceptible to wear and tear. I have owned three Elite controllers, and all of them failed in different ways. By contrast, my 2013 "Day One" Edition Xbox One controller still works to this day. 

It's a bit of a tough sell given how expensive they are, generally clocking in at around $180. Hopefully, future versions can revise some of those construction flaws, because they truly are the best controllers ever made otherwise.