Xbox One controller drivers for PC coming “soon”

Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox One controller will receive PC drivers, but has never openly talked about when. The Xbox 360 controller was always compatible with the PC, having support for Windows PC since day one, so people are getting anxious about the new version of Microsoft’s gamepad. It seems that Major Nelson is teasing us, responding on a NeoGAF thread with “Soon. Very soon”.

Although there is little to go on here, considering the announcements Microsoft made in the past few weeks, we may see this functionality launching before E3. Stranger things have happened in recent memory, Microsoft confirming that Halo 5 is coming in 2015, announcing the Kinect-less Xbox One bundle and confirming new features for the June Xbox One update before the big E3 conference, so maybe there is more in store for us.

Considering that the new Xbox SKU is launching on June 9th, we may see a series of events converging on this date. This is the date that the Microsoft conference is happening, and also the date we see the new Xbox One in stores. It may be the same day we get the June update for the console, so why wouldn’t they also launch the PC drivers on the same day?

What’s not clear right now is how will the gamepad work on PC. Will it be wired-only, requiring a micro-USB cable attached permanently in order to work, or will Microsoft also launch a wireless dongle to go along with it, like they did with the Xbox 360 gamepad. It is unclear if the Xbox One uses classical Bluetooth for wireless connections or it uses some kind of cripted signal, like the Xbox 360.

If Bluetooth is the case, then we wouldn’t really need a branded dongle, because any other would work, as was the case with the PlayStation 3 controller. Meanwhile, unofficial drivers are available, for those who really want to use the Xbox One on the PC.