Microsoft has made 1 million Xbox One Elite controllers

Peripheral makers have always known that gamers will spend money on quality keyboards and headsets. Now, Microsoft has proven that the same is true of gamepads for consoles.

Microsoft has manufactured 1 million Xbox One Elite controllers since announcing it at the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in 2015. Xbox boss Phil Spencer took to social media to announce the milestone, and he even showed off the one-millionth controller with “1,000,000” engraved on the front. The device sells for $150, and many critics believed the device wouldn’t appeal to most people. Even Microsoft didn’t expect a lot of demand. But it is the best controller I’ve ever used, and that high quality has led to Microsoft having to make more than a million Elites in less than a year since its October release.

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Great milestone, our one millionth Xbox Elite controller. Thanks to all who have supported. pic.twitter.com/semvYxD5Yg

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) June 28, 2016

While the Elite is Microsoft’s top-of-the-line controller, the company is still improving its standard gamepad on a nearly annual basis. In 2015, the company released an improved version with better bumper buttons, better-feeling analog sticks, and a 3.5mm headphone jack built in. At this year’s E3, Microsoft announced another round of improvements.

The 2016 version of the Xbox One controller will feature a better grip texture on the back and better thumbstick well. It is also getting improved range, so you can play from even further away. That’s potentially useful if you want to keep your PC in another room and stream it to a TV over something like the Steam Link. Finally, Microsoft is putting Bluetooth support in its gamepad, which means you no longer need the USB dongle to use your Xbox One gamepad on your PC, and it should now also support Android and iOS devices.

Additionally, Microsoft also revealed its Xbox Design Labs website that enables you to order a custom-painted version of the new standard controller.

We’ve asked Microsoft if it plans to include Bluetooth, Design Lab support, and the other improvements in future versions of the Elite controller. We’ll update this story with its response. In the meantime, watch our review of the excellent pad below: