Xbox Series X|S media remotes now available for preorder from 8BitDo

8bitdo Xbox Remotes Wide
8bitdo Xbox Remotes Wide (Image credit: 8BitDo)

What you need to know

  • 8BitDo announced two new Xbox media remotes.
  • The remotes work with the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One.
  • Both remotes feature media buttons, directional buttons, and A, B, X, and Y buttons, but only the long version has a number pad.

Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One owners have new options when it comes to media remotes. 8BitDo announced two Xbox media remotes that are available for preorder. The short version of the remote costs $20, while the long version is a bit pricier at $25. Both remotes will be available on September 15, 2021.

Both of 8BitDo's new remotes have media buttons like play, pause, skip, and fast forward. They also have the standard Xbox buttons, including the Xbox home button, directional buttons, and A, B, X, and Y buttons. The main difference between the controllers is that the long version has a number pad. They also come in different colors, with the short version in white and the long version in black.

Source: 8BitDo (Image credit: Source: 8BitDo)

They're similar in design to some of the best media remotes for Xbox Series X and Series S but resemble PDP's offerings the most. The newer PDP Media Remote is more like the 8BitDo's short remote, while 8BitDo's longer offering resembles the original PDP Talon. PDP's offerings are often out of stock, so people may shift to 8BitDo as an alternative.

8BitDo is likely most recognized for its gaming controllers, like the 8BitDo Pro 2 and the 8BitDo Xbox controller, but it also makes adapters and accessories.

Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).

6 Comments
  • Seems like a pretty good deal. I've been looking at the PDP remotes but they have been out of stock everytime I look. Hope you all do a review on these.
  • "Hope you all do a review on these."
    Already ordered! And yup, not only will I review, but I'll compare/contrast it to PDP, which I use every night.
  • Awesome. Looking forward to it. I'm going to hold off on looking for the PDP until then.
  • The official Microsoft Xbox media remote is no more, right?
  • My PDP Talon remote is great. What would be even better would be if all media streaming apps for the Xbox actually properly supported them. Far more often than I'd like, I've encountered an app where, for example, I have to press the "action" button a couple of times to pause because the app doesn't respond to the Play/Pause button on the remote. Seriously annoying.
  • Now if only I could find a series x at a decent price.