The Xbox Design Lab website is back, allowing users to officially create their own custom controllers which are then built and shipped by Microsoft. The Lab was first released in 2016, but it got shut down a bit during the Xbox Series X / S launch. Now, it’s back and it’s also compatible with the new Xbox controller.
The design lab works in a similar way to third-party run custom driver websites, allowing people to choose different colors for different parts. Do you want blue triggers and a green front? You can do it. However, unlike those sites, The Design Lab’s drivers are officially sourced from Microsoft and have had much better build and color quality in my experience. It also tends to be cheaper – a fully custom driver from Microsoft will cost you $ 69. You can also get a custom message engraved on it, if you’re feeling fancy. But that will increase the price by $ 10.
Our own Fahey has made some cool drivers using the service. In 2017, he made a really fancy Xbox gamepad using bits and pieces that had recently been added to the site.
In October 2020, Micorosft closed the Design Lab service, but made it clear that this was not permanent. Instead, the tech giant was pausing support for the site until sometime in 2021. Turns out, at some point it was June! The big difference now compared to 2020 is that the site supports new Xbox controllers, which include a nifty little share button. (I wonder where Xbox got the idea for that button. Hmm…)
If you want to create your own fancy (or nasty) looking Xbox controller, you can jump to the site today. Just a word of warning: even after a little hiatus and update, Microsoft is still not making custom designs for the Elite controllers.
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