Aqua Shift Xbox Controller Makes Others Look Tame

Today Microsoft revealed an Xbox Wireless Controller with a unique physical design detail. Utilizing a color-changing finish on the top panel, this controller delivers just a bit of a "shimmer." This is the Xbox Wireless Controller – Aqua Shift Special Edition, a controller that Microsoft presents "for your holding pleasure."

This controller is the sort you get when you want to match your custom color-shift muscle car, or your next-level hot rod. Microsoft describes the controller's unique top half as having a "surreal, color-shifting blue shimmer." It's blue, but at every different angle you'll see a slightly different bit of shine.

This controller is also "the first Special Edition Xbox Series X|S controller to feature rubberized side grips with a unique dual color swirl on every unit." All previous official Xbox Wireless Controller releases from Microsoft were made with the same sort of plastic as the rest of the controller. This one is ever-so-slightly closer to the Xbox Elite Controller Series 2, what with the rubbery texture around the sides.

This controller is sort of between the standard Wireless Controller and the Elite Controller, with its style and its price, too. The Xbox Wireless Controller – Aqua Shift Special Edition is up for pre-order in "select Xbox markets worldwide" for approximately $70 USD. This is just the latest in a line of official controllers from Microsoft with a shockingly eclectic mix of aesthetics on their outsides – they're wild!

Take a peek at the timeline of Xbox controllers below to see a few other examples of what's out there. And drop in on our Top 4 best Xbox One controllers review if you're looking for the best of the last generation. That review still remains legit today, too, as the official "Elite" controller from Microsoft is still the best of the best, both generation 1 and 2.