Yesterday, for Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Xbox announced a plethora of new features being added to the Xbox ecosystem, but the most exciting of all is the new Proteus accessibility controller, designed by ByoWave.
The controller is a combination of rounded cubes. Each face of the cube can hold another cube or an accessory to be used for the controller, such as a D-Pad, analogue stick, XYAB button combination or even a single, large button.
ByoWave says their modular set-up will allow for over 100 different configurations of the controller, allowing gamers with a variety of accessibility issues to use the controller in a way that best suits them.
At launch the Proteus controller will only work with the Xbox Series X and S models, the Xbox One or any PC running either Windows 10 or 11, as the Proteus was made as part of the “Designed with Xbox” program.
The controller is expected to launch in the US near the end of the year at $299 (R5,500) for the Starter Kit, which includes 2 of the Power Cubes, a variety of spacers to help shape the controller, a D-Pad, a left and right analogue stick, an XYAB peripheral, a left and right trigger peripheral, 9 different covers for any open spots on your cube, a smaller analogue stick, 2 one button peripherals and a few covers for charging ports.
At the moment, only the starter kit is available for pre-order at a discounted price of $255 (R4,600), but I’m sure you will be able to pick up peripherals separately once the product officially launches.
They have also added a few STL files to the site which allow users to 3D print their own peripherals for the controller to create a completely personalised controller experience. This just adds even more accessibility options for those who need it.
Of course, the Proteus also comes with an extensive software platform that allows you to remap any of the buttons on the controller to function as you wish. For that extra gamified gaminess, you can also customise your LED profile on the software, and, if you’re lazy, you can download other community configurations that you think might just work for you.
Overall I think the Proteus controllers modular design looks absolutely fantastic and I can see it being a real winner for those who need their controller to fit their hand or hands just a little differently to whats currently out there.