You can actually buy this year’s Xbox Pride controller

Xbox’s 2022 customizable Pride controller is officially live, and it’s available for anyone — not just influencers — to purchase. It’s a solid change, after 2021’s Pride controller was only offered to influencers and select media people, in an interpretation of “inclusivity” that was pretty quickly roasted. Announced on June 1 via Xbox Wire, the controller is part of Microsoft’s Pride-themed branding push that includes Pride-themed Xbox merch, Windows wallpapers, and Surface Laptop skins, as well as in-game content like an emblem and nameplate in Halo InfiniteYou can also find rainbow liveries and other Forza features. Microsoft allowed Polygon to design one of the controllers for Pride Month. We would receive it. Here’s how that went.

I took on the role of designer and headed to the Xbox Design Lab website and selected the Pride top case — which sports a vibrant pattern made from a combination of 34 different flags. The rest of my controller was then redesigned in myriad color combinations. To play with the design of my controller, I experimented with a variety of purples in metallic and matte styles. Because I prefer neutral colors and am not a fan of boring colors, I went all-white with the rest. This will make the top more prominent.

The 2022 Xbox Pride controller will start at $79.99 USD, per an Xbox representative, and various add-on items — like rubber grips or metallic finIt ishes — will cost more.

Here’s the completed look, in person, after I unboxed mine:

The Xbox Wire Pride controller announcement takes on a bold tone: “But this isn’tIt is a simple controller. It’s a symbol of the LGBTQIA+ communities that inspired it, and a call to continue efforts toward inclusion and representation across all gaming spaces.” Here’s the thing: The controller is just a controller. Microsoft has also donated money to LGBTQIA+ charities, such as OutRight Action International. Xbox Publishing will be hosting a livestream. Please Tell Me WhyTrans Lifeline is hosting an event June 23rd to raise funds. The game features a trans-character and it’s also available for free throughout June.

Since 2006, June has been a month when corporations have rainbow-washed their marketing to make money and build brands. The corporate pandering is so common that a Twitter meme is being created about it. Most people have moved on from the notion that rainbow images are a call for action and equate with activism.

Queer communities have wrestled with the question of how to make Pride as inclusive as possible, and that only gets messier when corporations push their way in too — especially companies run by executives who support homophobic and transphobic policies, or enforce discriminatory work practices, and then turn around and use social platforms to “celebrate” queer characters and on-screen representation. Disney Plus is one example of this. sharing a Pride graphic on Twitter with queer characters from their shows and movies; earlier in the year, Disney workers walked out over the company’s response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. (Incidentally, the Disney Plus graphic is funny — I don’t think anyone who watched Jessica JonesJeri as played by Carrie Anne Moss would be a great addition. You might also be interested in where it is. The Owl House?)

But I’m also just a person, and sometimes I’m as excited to buy new things as the next guy. Since 2019, I have the rainbow Pride Chacos, and a rainbow controller adds a great touch to my gaming system. My friends and I will fight over who gets to use “the gay controller.” It does mean something to me to see these flags on an object that I use every day — for work and in my free time — and I’m glad to see some of that money donated to a good cause. It is a huge scam that capitalism has created: the belief that buying a product branded by a company is equivalent to supporting a charity. And it’s not!

I think Pride Controller is adorable, but I also believe it’s important to give back to other causes. Below are some resources and tools that can help. This weekend we’ll be streaming Polygonathon on Twitch. It is a 24 hour stream that raises money for Trans Lifeline.