Meet the Xbox Cloud Gaming Controller — New controller leaks online, and it has built-in Wi-Fi that should greatly reduce latency

Via a new report from Tecnoblog, a Brazilian website that appears to have shared the first look at a new Xbox controller designed specifically for Xbox Cloud Gaming. The controller itself looks like a smaller, squashed-down version of the Xbox controller we’ve all come to know, and honestly, I kind of like it.

In the report, Tecnoblog revealed documentation it allegedly obtained, which included the following details:

“The controller will come with a 500 mAh battery, and that, in terms of connectivity, it uses Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6 (restricted to 20 MHz band). The chip used for this is Realtek's RTL8730E, with two 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A7 cores.”

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The most interesting detail here is the Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, giving the controller direct-to-WiFi functionality. Essentially, this cuts out the middleman, which would usually be a console, PC, or phone, potentially allowing for lower latency, easier switching between devices, and a much better experience for cloud gaming.

Now, direct-to-WiFi is actually something we’ve reported on before. In my colleague Jez Corden’s “Xbox in 2026” report, he discussed how Microsoft is expected to feature this functionality in its next-generation controllers in an effort to eliminate Bluetooth latency for cloud gaming.

With this controller now seemingly out in the wild, it appears what Jez was told seems to be pretty accurate. While this is just one controller, it would make sense for Xbox to support this functionality across future controllers moving forward, given their cloud gaming efforts.

Currently, we aren’t sure when this controller could be released, and, as Tecnoblog states, there’s currently no evidence of the device appearing at the FCC, meaning there are no public regulatory filings for the controller yet, so, despite the images, take this controller with a pinch of salt.

I, for one, am all for this little controller (depending on the price), though I would’ve loved to see it launch alongside the now-canceled Project Keystone device we heard about years ago that never materialized. For those unfamiliar, Keystone was reportedly a small set-top box that would essentially function as a cloud-based Xbox for streaming games.

What do you think of what I’ll dub the “Micro Xbox Controller” for now? Do you like it, or are you not a fan?

Let me know in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll above!

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