It’s not often we see a product announcement bragging of a controller’s wired connection, but Thrustmaster has done just that for its new eSwap X Pro controller.
It means a zero-lag connection for the controller, apparently, though we don’t recall the Series X controller being particularly laggy. Officially licensed by Microsoft and timed to coincide with the launch of the Xbox Series X, the eSwap X Pro is also Windows compatible, in case you were wondering what it was doing on this site.
There’s more of a gimmick than just a USB cable at work here, of course—you can swap some parts of the eSwap out. There are swappable sticks, with Thrustmaster’s new generation of thumb-prongs offering better resistance, lifespan, and recentring accuracy over its old ones. And you can change the grips for softer ones, or different colours.
You can lock off the triggers too, meaning they activate with less of a pull, perfect for hair-triggers on certain shooter weapons. It also sports buttons in places you wouldn’t usually find them, such as underneath the controller and along the edge facing the player. All buttons sit on new tact switches for better response times, and a lifespan of five million clicks. You can also remap many of them manually, and switch out the button and D-pad modules if you lose one or something. They snap magnetically into place.
It all comes with a slightly embarrassing slogan, ‘Born To Be Ranked’, which you don’t need to be Jonathan Ross to have a giggle at, and will retail for $160 (£150), with replacement modules at $20 (£18), and coloured grip packs at $50 (£45). All of which will be available from December 4 in the US and Canada or December 10 in Europe.