It appears that the time of unofficial Xbox third-party accessories is coming to an end. For those who enjoyed tinkering around with their console, using unofficial equipment for their gaming experience, sadly this will no longer be possible. November 12th will be the date when this decision takes effect and many fans may have come across an error code warning them of this.
Microsoft has drawn a line in the sand and implemented a policy that will see unofficial Xbox third-party accessories blocked. Some players have reported experiencing the ‘error 0x82d60002’ message when using the unofficial hardware, advising that ‘the connected accessory is unauthorised’. The message goes on to state that by using these accessories, players are compromising their gaming experience.
Xbox Third-Party Accessories
In the most recent update, Microsoft confirmed the latest console build was experiencing issues with unofficial Xbox third-party accessories. However, there have been suggestions that Microsoft is looking to finally move away from wired controllers and expand the program for official third-party Xbox wireless controllers.
Microsoft feels that this is market revenue that they are missing out on with all the unofficial Xbox third-party accessories currently available. Unfortunately, in this David and Goliath battle, there is very little chance of the underdog succeeding. Given the money spent on recent acquisitions, Microsoft perhaps sees this as a way to bring in a new source of revenue whilst shutting down the unofficial market.
Although there is no official confirmation on whether this policy implementation will affect the Xbox One and Series consoles, we can only assume that this will be the case.
Likewise, there is no listing of which unofficial Xbox third-party accessories are affected, but we can likewise assume that third-party companies like Razer and Turtle Beach will be the go-to companies moving forward.
No doubt the companies which specialise in unofficial third-party accessories will see a notable impact on sales following Microsoft’s decision. One such company, Brook Gaming, took to Social Media to address the issues that fans had encountered with their XB Fighting Board and Wingman XB S Converter.
Apologising for any inconvenience to players, the company advised that their engineering team is going to endeavour to work towards a solution that allows functionality to continue. Brook Gaming thanked fans for the ‘unwavering support’ and stated that as soon as any updates became available, they would update users as soon as possible.
Following the post on X (formerly Twitter), Brook Gaming saw an influx of comments from players who were looking to ascertain how this would affect them in the future and if they would need to seek a return or refund.
“I purchased the XB2 on September 26, my return grace expired. Does this mean I lost 50 USD? Can Brook license the XB2? Millions of users would be affected. I bought for my XBOX XSX. What I do now?” – @MaxySnake
“Will I have to return my Wingman XB 2 Converter? I bought it not even 2 months ago, do you think it will take a long time to solve this problem?” – @Zangaroth
Brook Gaming reassured fans that they would be ‘fully committed’ to this issue and that if anyone else encountered any issues, then they should contact them via their official website.
Whilst Microsoft has still to release an official comment in regards to this latest decision, it has led to condemnation from some in the community. Some see it as nothing more than an attempt to wipe out those companies who are cashing in on something that Microsoft has yet to implement. However, one thing is clear, there are a lot of disappointed Xbox owners.
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