One lucky Xbox fan came across an unexpected find online when they stumbled across severalHalo-themed prototype controllers for the Xbox One for sale, sharing a picture of the collection for others to admire. Master Chief’s latest outing on PC and consoles recently got an injection of new content withthe launch ofHalo Infinite’s Season 3: Echoes Withinearlier this month.
Beginning life as a never-released real-time strategy game for the Mac before eventually morphing into one of the most recognizable first-person shooter franchises in gaming, Microsoft’sHaloseries has become inextricably linked with the company’s Xbox consoles over the past 22 years. The originalHalo: Combat Evolvedwas released alongside Microsoft’s first foray into console hardware, the Xbox, and the franchise has made appearances on every Microsoft console since. The series’ most recent entry, 2021’sHalo Infinite, was included as part ofMicrosoft’s Xbox Game Pass Serviceand made the game’s multiplayer component free for all players for the first time.
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A new picture posted to the r/Xbox subreddit serves as a perfect example of how tightly intertwined theHalofranchise has become with Microsoft’s Xbox brand. The pictures, posted by Reddit user dretro33, show two sets of prototype controllers for the Xbox One that feature stunning, Halo-themed designs. The first set of Xbox One controllers features a dark green palette reminiscent of Master Chief’s armor with gold highlights on the D-pads, while the second pair’s silver and blue color scheme appears to be inspired by secondary protagonist Locke from theXbox One-exclusiveHalo 5: Guardians.
Redditors responding to photos of the collection of prototype controllers were impressed with dretro33’s finds, with several commenters sharing that they had bought the release version of theHalo-themed controllers. Responding to one Redditor who was curious about how they came to own the unique collectibles, dretro33 replied that they live in Washington where Microsoft is headquartered, and they find “cool Microsoft stuff” for sale online fairly often. Some replies questioned whether the controllers were really prototypes rather than commercially released versions, though it was quickly pointed out that the photos showed a distinctive “Prototype” marking inside the controllers’ battery compartments.
While the physical experience of playing with these unique prototypes would be no different than with any other controller, their relative rarity makes them a unique and collectible part ofHaloand Xbox history. Hopefully, dretro33 won’t find them suffering from the dreadedXbox controller drift problemif they ever decide to bust them out for some 4-playerHaloco-op action, though.
