If you’re an OG Xbox owner suddenly experiencing flashbacks of split-screen Halo multiplayer mayhem, don’t panic. A tasty translucent green makeover has turned the Backbone One mobile controller into a time capsule ready to take your flagship phone back to the early 2000s.
With black circuit boards encased in the same see-through outer shell as the limited edition original Xbox, the Backbone One: Xbox Edition controller is tailor-made for Xbox Cloud Gaming. The regular One’s screenshot button has even been swapped out for an Xbox button, for a truly authentic experience.
The controller otherwise sticks to Backbone’s usual formula, with a slide-out design that’ll swallow even the portliest of phones and a USB-C connection that plays nicely with both iPhones and Android handsets. The offset joystick layout will mean Xbox owners will feel right at home, and the A/B/X/Y buttons are in the ‘correct’ order (Sorry, Nintendo Switch fans). Left and right bumpers and triggers free you from unresponsive onscreen controls, while a dedicated share button is handy for screenshots and recording gameplay clips.
Pass-through USB-C charging is on-board so you can keep playing long after your phone would’ve otherwise bitten the dust, and there’s still a 3.5mm port for plugging in a headset – even if your phone doesn’t have one itself.
Backbone has also bagged one month of Game Pass Ultimate from Microsoft as a pack-in, so you can get gaming straight away via the cloud. Current highlights include British post-apocalyptic adventure Atomfall, Nazi punch-em-up Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and hard-as-nails remaster Ninja Gaiden 2 Black.
Want one to turn your phone into a portable Xbox? The Backbone One Xbox Edition is going on sale right now, for £110, directly from Backbone. US gamers will be able to bag one via Best Buy Drops for $110.
PlayStation gamers don’t have to feel left out, of course: the BackBone PlayStation Edition has been doing the rounds since 2022 with bespoke face buttons and a PS5-aping colour scheme.
