• Xbox has announced a new licensed accessibility controller from Byowave – the Proteus.
• The controller is actually a number of modular spheres and surfaces than can be mixed and matched to fit personal accessibility needs.
• Microsoft says it is also updating its accessibility controller software based on community feedback.

Thursday sees Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and to mark the occasion, Microsoft has launched a new Xbox controller made for disabled gamers. It is called the Proteus controller, and is unique from other accessibility controllers in that it is completely modular and can be customised to fit a number of combinations so that gamers can mold it to fit their hands.

Unfortunately the controller is expensive, pre-orders fetch for $255 right now, and that’s already with a 15 percent off launch price applied. This translates to over R4 600 for the entire kit for South African gamers, while a normal Xbox Series X controller goes for around R1 600 locally.

But the Proteus is an innovative piece of tech, so the price does make sense.

According to Byowave, the company that Microsoft has licensed to make the Proteus kit, the controller features a ‘snap and play’ feature. The kit contains a number of modular spheres than can be combined in different ways with different button surfaces.

Essentially, this allows users to make their own controllers that can fit their hands in any way their accessibility needs may require.

“The Designed for Xbox team has been collaborating closely with our partners at Byowave to develop the Proteus Controller, a modular adaptive kit giving disabled gamers the tools to build their own way to play,” writes Microsoft in a blog post.

The different modular bottun surfaces include analog sticks, the D-pad, centre button layout, back triggers and the action buttons, and even the side-holders. One kit can build what amounts to a single full Xbox controller and the fact that a controller can be snapped together in different ways and still works is quite awesome.

Of course, the controller is also compatible with Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller framework, which allows further customisation on the software side of things. Microsoft also says that is updating this framework as well.

“Based on community feedback from an update impacting unauthorized accessories on our platform, we are updating the Xbox Adaptive Controller to expand support for more accessories connected via USB port,” it said.

“This update will better support full functionality of some accessibility peripherals. Each port now supports up to 12 buttons, a second stick, and a hat switch.”

Xbox Insiders (in the beta programme) will get to use the updated framework first, but it should be rolled out to general users in “the coming months.”

As for the Byowave Proteus controller, it is expected to see a full release in spring 2024.