We’re inching closer and closer to the 2020 holiday’s which means that we’re also very close to the inevitable launch of the Xbox Series X. Microsoft has been rather busy putting out information this entire year for their upcoming system, with an emphasis on Backwards Compatibility. This feature not only applies to their video games but also to their accessories, in this case, third-party accessories. The company has announced brand new Designed for Xbox logo, which includes several other companies that utilize accessories for the Xbox family. We already knew that the Xbox Series X would support the majority of current Xbox accessories, but it appears that Microsoft is extending it to its third-party partners as well. If you see a product with this new logo on it, then it’s made for the Xbox brand.
The company has teamed up with “over 34 gaming brands” and has expanded its licensed accessories to the PC and Cloud Gaming. Microsoft then goes onto highlight some of those brands how they’ll contribute to the Xbox name. These include some heavy hitters in the industry such as OtterBox, Geek Made Designs, Audeze, Corsair, Razer, Linksys, Seagate, and Logitech. All of these brands are instantly recognizable in not only the video game market but also the PC and home accessory market. Microsoft mentions that some of these products will be compatible with the Xbox Series X such as Audeze’s Penrose X Wireless Planar Magnetic Headset, Nacon’s officially licensed controllers, and Honeycomb Aeronautical’s next generation of flight controls for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
On top of all that, Microsoft also briefly touched on the continuous compatibility of their licensed first-party Xbox One accessories. The company stated that any Xbox One accessory that connects to the console, either wired via USB or wireless, will be able to use it on the Xbox Series X. This also applies to any headsets that utilize the 3.5mm port. However, the company does mention that some headsets that use an optical cable might require a firmware update in order to chat with other in-game.
Lastly, Microsoft also states that starting this holiday, many “Designed for Xbox controller charging solutions” will contain a second battery door to house new and older Xbox Wireless controllers. Quite frankly, this much more than we expected in terms of utilizing all available accessories for the next generation. Sony has something similar going on for their upcoming PlayStation 5, but not quite on the same level. This is also the case in terms of Backwards Compatibility, as it was recently reported that the PlayStation 5 may only utilize this feature with PlayStation 4 titles.