Xbox Is Seemingly Blocking Unauthorized Third-Party Accessories And Controllers

Microsoft is seemingly going to block unauthorized third-party accessories and controllers from working on Xbox Series X|S starting November 12. However, Microsoft is reportedly planning on expanding its approved third-party program for controllers.

First spotted by Windows Central, an Xbox owner in the UK got an error message 0x82d60002 when plugging in their third-party controller. The message read, "A connected accessory is not authorized. Using unauthorized accessories compromises your gaming experience. For this reason, the unauthorized accessory will be blocked from use on 11/12/2023."

Window Central also reported that this may be related to Microsoft's plans to expand its program for approved third-party wireless Xbox controllers. It's been a challenge for third parties to release wireless Xbox controllers, but these changes could lead to more of them being launched. These new blocks on unauthorized controllers might be due to Microsoft being wary of allowing accessories that would let people cheat.

At least one manufacturer, Brook Gaming, has acknowledged that some of its products will be impacted by the change and said it's working to resolve the issue. A user on X (formerly known as Twitter), also pointed out that this new policy could harm local fighting game events that run on Xbox consoles as some participants can't afford to purchase multiple arcade sticks or fighting boards.

So far, Microsoft has not commented on this particular issue and it's unknown if it will reverse the policy or go ahead with it. Microsoft isn't a stranger to walking back policies due to negative feedback. In 2021, Microsoft planned to increase the price of Xbox Live Gold but reversed the decision after seeing fan backlash.