At this point, it's no secret that the head of Xbox Phil Spencer is a fan of the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller. Since the PS5's release, he has been praising the controller for its innovation and new features, so it comes as no surprise that Spencer continued his praise of the DualSense on the most recent episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast. In the same episode, he went on to say that there's, "probably some work that we'll do on the controller," when referencing the future of Xbox.
If a new Xbox controller is coming in the future, there seems to be no better time to release it than alongside Deathloop's arrival on Xbox consoles, hopefully in September 2022. Although there's no official confirmation that the game is going to be a cross-platform title, the frequent fine print text in the game's trailers detailing how long it will remain a PS5-exclusive has fans putting two and two together.
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Generally speaking, the Xbox controller hasn't changed that much since the days of the Xbox 360. Sure, the shape has undergone some minor tweaks, but the overall button layout and feel remain relatively untouched when comparing Xbox 360 controllers to those of the Xbox One era. The changes are even more minute when comparing Xbox One controllers to the Xbox Series X/S. It's a little tricky to imagine what changes the company has in mind without looking across the console aisle to the PlayStation 5's DualSense.
The two features that the DualSense seems to be receiving unwavering praise for are its haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. The two new functions have been cleverly incorporated into PS5 games like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal, literally giving each game unique "feels." That's likely where the next Xbox controller might start, as the overall design of the current Xbox Series X controller doesn't seem to be in question. After all, an official Xbox survey from January 2021 asked Xbox owners if they would want features similar to the DualSense's adaptive triggers to be incorporated into Xbox controllers.
While that's not the smoking gun confirming that a new Xbox controller is definitely coming soon, it's definitely proof that Xbox is taking notice of what features PS5 owners like about Sony's newest console. If such features were to make their way to the Xbox, there would have to be plenty of internal discussions within Xbox. Introducing a new controller that's mandatory to play certain games could go against the consumer-friendly image that Xbox has spent so long building with things like Game Pass and the Xbox Series S.
As stated above, there's no official confirmation that Deathloop will be coming to Xbox, however, after Xbox's E3 2021 press conference, it's clear that the company is wanting the games coming out of the recently Microsoft acquired Zenimax Media to be Xbox exclusives. Despite a lack of official announcements, it's almost a no-brainer to assume that titles like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo will be coming to Xbox once their exclusivity deals are up.
Because those two titles will most likely be making full use of the DualSense's features (Deathloop's gun jamming mechanic was one of the first examples of the adaptive triggers), it might mean that playing them on a controller without such features would feel like a different or even lesser experience.
It's for that reason that it would be worth Xbox's time to make sure that their updated controller, with whatever new features it may have, would be released alongside Deathloop's release on Xbox consoles. That window also gives the company plenty of time to develop and test the controller before it comes out. With over a year until Deathloop's exclusivity deal is up, Xbox has some time to improve its controller and rival the DualSense.
Deathloop releases on September 14, 2021, for PC and PS5.
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