• Samsung has announced a new initiative where it will officially license gaming accessories to be sold by third-party companies.
• The first product of this initiative is the “Replay Midnight Blue” wireless controller, built by PDP, now in pre-order in certain regions.
• Samsung says licensed controllers will undergo testing to ensure quality and security when used with Samsung products.

At the ongoing Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES) 2024, tech giants and major movers in the sector, have revealed new forays into the gaming industry. South Korea’s Samsung has steadily been updating and upgrading its devices for better gameplay performance in efforts to begin cracking the billion-dollar mobile gaming market.

The latest will see Samsung launch the “Designed for Samsung Gaming Hub” programme, a new initiative to work with gaming accessory companies to build and sell “officially licensed products specifically for Samsung Gaming.” The first design of the deal will be the Designed for Samsung Gaming Hub controller, seen below.

Previously, heading to the Samsung Gaming hub for controllers would see you peruse a catalogue of console controllers from Xbox, PlayStation and Amazon.

According to an announcement from Samsung, the new controller looks almost identical to an Xbox Series X controller, with the only novel feature being an arrow-like button positioned below the right analogue stick and the D-pad.

This is probably the Samsung Gaming Hub home button, which is capable of immediately launching Samsung Gaming Hub. Interestingly, the D-pad also includes symbols that may be used to increase, decrease and mute the volume on your smartphone or connected smart TV.

The wireless controller called the “Replay Midnight Blue” is being made in collaboration with PDP (Performance Designed Products), which is the first company to be folded into the programme. It is available for pre-order right now in select regions from the PDP website, Amazon or BestBuy. It goes for $50.

“Samsung recognizes the indispensable role of accessories in elevating gaming experiences,” explains Jiho Ha, head of Service Partnerships Group at Samsung.

“Building on our already-high level of compatibility, the ‘Designed for Samsung Gaming Hub’ program will see us collaborating with trusted partners to craft accessories that further enhance the premier experience of the Samsung Gaming Hub.”

Samsung will now begin adding the “Designed for Samsung Gaming Hub” badge – a purple game controller icon – to officially licensed products it will apparently test for “compatibility, quality, performance, safety and security on Samsung devices.”

“Accessories displaying this badge guarantee the best possible game streaming experience on Samsung Gaming Hub, regardless of the supported Samsung device players choose,” the announcement reads.