Xbox One QWERTY chatpad nestles up into controllers this November

By Will Fulton August 4, 2015

xbox one chatpad xb1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tired of hunting and pecking across a virtual keyboard with your gamepad whenever you need to enter text on the Xbox One, or hoping to trash talk your opponents without waking your roommate? Fortunately for you, among a rash of other revelations at its Gamescom press conference, Microsoft announced that the Xbox One will be getting an official chatpad peripheral for messaging, searching, and inputting codes.

Chat, search, & message w/ the new #Xbox Chatpad for #XboxOne & #Windows10. Pre-order today #xboxgamescom pic.twitter.com/aLx5VpmG1Q

— Xbox (@Xbox) August 4, 2015

Slotting snugly into the bottom of the Xbox One’s gamepad controller, the chat pad is a full QWERTY keyboard, along with volume controls and a headset adapter. It also includes two programmable keys (X1 and X2, flanking the space bar) to automate common functions. Nearly identical to a chatpad peripheral for the Xbox 360, it works with both the Xbox One and Windows 10, if you really don’t feel like putting down the controller to use a full-size keyboard when gaming on your Windows PC.

Adding a native keyboard to the Xbox One is particularly well-timed for its integration with Windows 10. Currently gamers can stream from the Xbox One to a Windows 10 PC. Although streaming in the opposite direction is not currently under development, Microsoft has said that it is a possibility for the future. Xbox head Phil Spencer recently expressed his interest in the feature in a Twitter conversation that also included the revelation if inbound mouse support for the Xbox One, blurring the line even further between consoles and PCs.

The Xbox One Chatpad is available now to preorder for $35 (controller not included). It will be released on November 10, 2015.

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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