Xbox To Start Banning ‘Unauthorized Controllers’
The vertical integration begins. Microsoft seems to be tightening the reins on “unauthorized” third party controllers for its consoles.
Third-party controllers are a staple of gaming. They have been since before the dawn of the first fighting sticks for the SNES (and who didn’t love a Super Advantage controller, it had like a million turbo settings). But now, Microsoft seems to be dialing down its support for third-party controllers for its consoles.
Over the past weekend, Xbox players reported getting error messages when using third-party controllers, specifically on the Xbox Series S/X. This seems to be part of a forthcoming policy change as the error messages notified players that “unauthorized accessories” would be blocked starting November 12th.
Xbox Cracking Down On Third-Party Controllers, Fighting Game Community Responds
The error in question, error 0x82d60002, displays the following message:
“Using unauthorized accessories compromises your gaming experience. For this reason, the unauthorized accessory will be blocked from use on 11/12/2023. For help returning it, check with the store i came from or contact the maunfacturer.
To see authorized accessories, go to www.xbox.com/accessories. (0x82d60002)”
Which seems to indicate that Microsoft will be blocking a number of controllers come November. And the link included redirects people to its official storefront. This change has the potential to impact many; both players and manufacturers are feeling the effects of this.
Xbox console-related product Issue Update pic.twitter.com/QK0N41LmHW
— Brook Gaming (@brookgamingfans) October 20, 2023
In a statement on Twitter, Brook Gaming, known for third-party accessories, issued a statement about the upcoming change. Notably, the XB Fighting Board is one of the affected controllers. Which is important, because the fighting game community in particular is feeling the sting of the change:
Heyo @XboxP3 @Xbox @mattbooty This is essentially a death sentence for local fighting game events that run on Xbox, much less, others that can only afford one arcade stick. The @brookgamingfans converters are not cheat devices. They’re a huge boon to the FGC. Please reconsider! https://t.co/85rqlfXm4i
— Maximilian Dood (@maximilian_) October 30, 2023
According to a Windows Central, who received clarifying comments from Microsoft, the new policy is intended to keep products from “compromising the gaming experience”:
“Microsoft and other licensed Xbox hardware partners’ accessories are designed and manufactured with quality standards for performance, security, and safety. Unauthorized accessories can compromise the gaming experience on Xbox consoles (Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S.) Players may receive a pop-up warning that their accessory is unauthorized. Eventually, the unauthorized accessory will be blocked from use to preserve the consol gaming experience. For a full list of accessories that are supported on Xbox consoles, please visit www.xbox.com/accrssories, our support pages here and here, and our Designed for Xbox Partner Hardware Program page here.
More on the story as it develops!
