Gaming

Alleged Xbox Elite Series 3 Surfaces on OfferUp — And It Has a Screen on the Face

Aug 120 views

Key takeaways

A Reddit user claims to have bought an alleged Xbox Elite Series 3 prototype for $200 on OfferUp.
Photos appear to show a small built-in screen, new scroll wheels, and a cloud gaming wireless mode.
Brazilian regulatory filings from May previously hinted at several of these same hardware features.

A prototype Xbox controller believed to be the Elite Series 3 has surfaced publicly after a Reddit user claims to have purchased the device for $200 through the secondhand marketplace OfferUp. The photos shared by the user appear legitimate and show hardware that aligns closely with earlier regulatory leaks, including what looks like a small screen embedded in the controller's face — a feature not yet officially acknowledged by Microsoft. The discovery has set gaming and hardware communities buzzing about what Microsoft's next premium gamepad will actually look like when it arrives.

This is not the first time the Elite Series 3 has leaked. Back in May, images published by a Brazilian regulatory body revealed several notable hardware additions planned for the controller, including two new scroll wheels positioned along the bottom edge of the pad. That same filing pointed to a second wireless mode designed to connect directly to Xbox Cloud Gaming servers — bypassing a console entirely — along with a new Pair Button intended to toggle between cloud servers and a local console. The freshly surfaced prototype appears to offer a physical location for that button, potentially adjacent to the newly identified screen.

The Xbox Elite Series 2 launched in November 2019 at a retail price of $179.99 and became one of the most respected premium controllers on the market, praised for its swappable components, adjustable triggers, and paddles. A third-generation model has been anticipated for some time, with Microsoft staying characteristically quiet on any official timeline. The cloud-direct wireless feature, if confirmed, would represent a meaningful functional leap — not just a hardware refresh.

OfferUp, the platform through which the prototype allegedly changed hands, is a consumer-to-consumer marketplace commonly used to sell used electronics. How a working Microsoft prototype ended up listed there remains unclear, though supply chain leaks involving unreleased hardware are not uncommon in the industry. Microsoft has not commented on the authenticity of the photos or the existence of the device as shown.

For now, the combination of the regulatory filing from May and these new photographs gives the clearest picture yet of where the Elite Series 3 is headed. The addition of a small screen, if real, would be one of the more ambitious interface changes Microsoft has made to the Elite line since its debut, raising questions about what the display might actually show — battery levels, profiles, connectivity status, or something else entirely.

The bigger picture

Microsoft's Elite controller line occupies a specific and profitable niche: serious players who want hardware customization without going full custom-order. Competitors like Sony with its DualSense Edge and third-party makers such as Scuf and Razer have kept pressure on that market, so an Elite Series 3 with genuinely new features — a built-in screen, cloud-direct wireless — would give Microsoft a meaningful differentiator heading into what is shaping up to be a busy hardware cycle. Sony's DualSense Edge, priced at $199.99, has been a credible rival, and anything that widens the Elite's feature gap matters commercially.

The cloud-direct connectivity angle is arguably more consequential than the screen. If Elite Series 3 owners can pair directly to Xbox Cloud Gaming servers without needing a console or a PC running the Xbox app as intermediary, that simplifies the portable xCloud experience significantly. It also positions the controller as infrastructure for Microsoft's broader gaming-as-a-service ambitions, not just a peripheral. That strategic framing matters when you consider how much Microsoft has invested in Game Pass and its cloud platform following the Activision Blizzard acquisition.

What readers should watch next is whether Microsoft makes any official move soon — perhaps at Gamescom in August or during a standalone hardware event. The regulatory filing in Brazil and now a physical prototype on the secondhand market suggest the Elite Series 3 is closer to production-ready than speculation alone would indicate. Prototype leaks of this nature typically precede announcements within months, not years, and Microsoft will likely want to get ahead of the narrative before more details slip out.

LagPing's take

We're covering this one because hardware leaks that combine regulatory filings with actual physical prototypes on the consumer market are genuinely rare, and this story sits at an interesting intersection of gaming hardware, cloud strategy, and Microsoft's ongoing platform ambitions. The Elite controller matters to a lot of our readers — it's the kind of purchase people research carefully — so any real indication of what Series 3 looks like is worth reporting carefully. We want to be clear that these photos are unverified by Microsoft, and we're treating them as credible but not confirmed. That said, the match with the Brazilian regulatory images adds meaningful weight. We'll be watching closely for any official word from Microsoft and will update our coverage as this develops.

X / Twitter WhatsApp

View at The Verge Tech

Find "Xbox" on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, LagPing earns from qualifying purchases. Product links are affiliate links.