I’ve owned both Elite controllers Microsoft has made so far, so a leak about the next one definitely gets my attention. It has not been announced yet, but Microsoft’s own customisation service may have given it away. Records for an unreleased pro controller turned up on the servers behind Xbox Design Lab, the site where players design their own Xbox controllers, and they list the upgrades Elite Series 2 owners have asked for: magnetic sticks that resist drift and proper haptics. The records have since been removed, and the details below are a leak until Microsoft says otherwise.
What leaked
On October 5, a user called esketitethan posted on Reddit links to product records held by Spectrum, the company that runs the customiser behind Xbox Design Lab. The records describe a pro controller codenamed Edessa, along with an accessory codenamed Beatrice. They list Hall effect sticks in standard, loose and tight tensions, a separate TMR stick option, and motors described as “Impulse Triggers (ERMs) & Advanced Haptics (VCAs)”.
The same records include an audio scroll wheel, metal faceplates, low-friction and silent stick options, more paddle shapes, three D-pad styles and 27 mapped configurations for stick toppers and paddles. They also list four packages: an Elite Complete and a Base version, each with or without the motors. Windows Central’s Jez Corden and Pure Xbox covered the leak, and the links now return nothing, which suggests the records were pulled. The data never uses the name Elite Series 3.
What the stick and haptics changes mean
Hall effect and TMR sticks both read the stick’s position with magnets, so there is no physical contact to wear down and cause drift, the slow, unwanted movement that affects many older controllers. TMR, short for tunnel magnetoresistance, is the newer of the two and is designed to use less power and read more precisely, according to iFixit.
The motor line points to a mix of two technologies. ERMs, eccentric rotating mass motors, are the spinning-weight motors behind the impulse triggers on today’s Xbox controllers. VCAs, voice coil actuators, produce finer and more varied vibration, the approach Sony uses in the DualSense.
Two earlier leaks point the same way
This is the third leak of the controller this year. In May, Brazilian site Tecnoblog found certification documents from Anatel, Brazil’s telecom regulator, showing a controller with Wi-Fi 6, two scroll wheels, a button to switch between local and cloud play, and a 1,528 mAh battery. In August, a prototype with a small screen on its top edge appeared on Reddit, according to Windows Central. Photos of its battery label show the same 1,528 mAh capacity, which links the two leaks.
Corden reports that his sources expect the controller before Christmas, and that quality control and repairability have been priorities. Microsoft has not commented on any of the leaks.
The Elite Series 2’s reputation
The current model launched in November 2019 at $179.99, according to Xbox Wire. Microsoft raised it to $199.99, and the Elite Series 2 Core to $149.99, in its May 2025 price increase, and those are the prices on Xbox’s store today. Microsoft extended its warranty from 90 days to one year in October 2020 after reports of hardware problems, as The Verge reported.
Those problems have not gone away. Corden writes that he has been through at least two Elite Series 2 controllers himself, because of failing shoulder buttons and peeling grips, and stick drift remains the other common complaint. The leaked sticks address drift directly. Nothing in the records mentions the bumpers or the grips, so those remain the questions to watch when Microsoft announces the controller.
What to watch for
The next Elite looks set to fix the sticks and finally bring real haptics to an Xbox controller, features already found in Sony’s DualSense Edge and in cheaper third-party pads with magnetic sticks. The details that will decide whether it is worth upgrading are the ones the leak leaves out: the bumpers, the grips, the battery and the price. For a look at a current Xbox controller, my Gears of War: E-Day controller first impressions cover the standard model in its special edition.
Why I would buy one
I’ve owned both earlier Elites: a Series 1, and a Series 2 I designed on Xbox Design Lab. The Series 1 ended up with the bumper problems the line is known for. My Series 2 still works well, but the grips peel, and honestly, they get really dirty and nasty over time.
So yes, I would buy a Series 3. The magnetic sticks and the haptics are good reasons, but what would really make me upgrade is the design. I clearly have an obsession with red, black and transparency. Design Lab has offered transparent Cipher top cases for the Elite Series 2 since September 2024, according to Windows Central, and if those options carry over to the next Elite, I want the transparent red version.
