Microsoft today announced the Xbox Nano controller, a smaller, cheaper gamepad built for play on the go and sized to fit into a pocket. Priced at $49.99, it is now available to pre-order, with shipping set to begin in November.
The timing matters because the controller is not just a new colorway or a minor refresh. Microsoft is pitching the Xbox Nano as its smallest controller, at just over five inches long, with all the regular buttons found on a normal Xbox controller, plus Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth support for Xbox consoles, phones, tablets and PCs. It also includes a rechargeable battery, which means no AA batteries and no separate charging pack.
That makes the pitch easy to understand: the Xbox Nano controller is meant for younger players, people with smaller hands and anyone who wants something easier to carry. It is also aimed squarely at portable play, which helps explain why Microsoft built it around a compact frame rather than a stripped-down feature set. The company did not cut the basics to make it smaller; it kept the full button layout and added a programmable Action Button that can be set for screenshots, gameplay capture and other Xbox shortcuts.
There is one detail that may matter to buyers who saw earlier images. The controller leaked earlier this year with what looked like a tiny screen that could have shown cloud or console connectivity, but that feature is not part of the final shipping model. In its place, the finished version includes a USB-C port at the rear and a pairing button, making the design more conventional than the leak suggested.
For Microsoft, the launch gives the Xbox Nano controller a clear place in the lineup: smaller than a standard controller, cheaper than a premium one and simple enough to travel with. The real question now is not whether it is new, but how much demand there is for a pocket-sized Xbox controller once it reaches shoppers in November.
