Microsoft has acknowledged that it unintentionally launched some Xbox controllers with out included batteries. To make up for it, Microsoft is offering up compensation within the type of a free rechargeable battery versus the usual AA batteries it ought to have include.
This mishap impacted solely a “restricted quantity” of controllers, Microsoft mentioned, and this has been occurring since December 2025. Anybody who acquired an Xbox controller with out batteries can visit this website to fill out a type to request a free rechargeable battery.
Should you misplaced your authentic receipt, that is OK, because the registration course of entails including the distinctive serial quantity to Microsoft’s web site for validation. The affected controllers embody newer Xbox wi-fi controllers and a few Xbox Design Lab controllers.
If you’re eligible, you will obtain an Xbox rechargeable battery + USB-C cable (which usually sells for $25), with a restrict of 1 rechargeable battery per eligible controller.
“All controllers shifting ahead will embody batteries,” Microsoft mentioned.
Xbox controllers include two AA batteries from Duracell, and a few individuals purchase into the conspiracy principle that Microsoft has not switched to an inner rechargeable setup as a result of Duracell is paying Microsoft. This principle gained traction in 2021 when a Duracell worker mentioned the battery firm and Microsoft had a co-marketing deal in place to advertise Duracell’s batteries.
For its half, Microsoft has mentioned it presents quite a lot of charging setups for Xbox controllers as a method to offer gamers choices as a substitute of locking them into inner rechargeable batteries solely. What’s extra, Microsoft mentioned years in the past that, within the analysis and polling course of, the corporate discovered that individuals by and huge desire to make use of AA batteries over rechargeables which might be native to a particular system.
Microsoft is engaged on a brand new console, Challenge Helix, however it stays to be seen what sort of new controller it might use, or what sort of battery setup it may have.