Microsoft today announced a new Xbox One Elite Bundle that includes a redesigned controller and a hard drive that’s both larger and faster than storage media packaged with earlier models of the Xbox One.
The Xbox One console included in the bundle features a 1TB Solid State Hybrid Drive, which automatically assigns frequently-accessed data to a solid state partition. The result is faster load times and boosted performance; Microsoft explains that the technology allows the Xbox One to boot 20 percent faster from energy-saving mode, compared to previous models.
Microsoft notes that many upcoming games will take advantage of the Solid State Hybrid Drive’s performance-boosting features, enabling quicker load times in titles like Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Forza Motorsport 6
The Xbox One Elite Bundle also includes the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller, a redesigned peripheral with features aimed at hardcore fans of first-person shooters. In addition to the Xbox One controller’s standard slate of buttons, bumpers, and triggers, the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller features a series of back-mounted paddles that can be tweaked and remapped to suit player preference.
The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is fully reconfigurable via a linked Xbox One app, allowing players to customize button mapping, trigger travel and throw, and thumbstick tension and dead zones, among other in-depth features. The accessory also swaps out the Xbox One’s standard d-pad with a uniquely shaped control disc, granting players a greater degree of control.
Microsoft will additionally launch an Xbox One Special Edition Lunar White Wireless Controller later this year. Priced at $75, the GameStop-exclusive peripheral features a gold-and-white color scheme and “improved grip texture for more control and comfort,” according to Microsoft.
The Xbox One Elite Bundle will launch worldwide in November, and is priced at $500. Early adopters can head to a local GameStop or Microsoft Store on November 3 to pick up one of the first bundles to hit the market ahead of its global launch in the weeks afterward.
