Microsoft achieved what it wanted: regarding the Xbox One controllers‘ drifting, the case was moved to arbitration.

We previously wrote about how Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith LLP (we will shorten their name to CSK&D onwards!), an American law firm, started a class-action lawsuit in April 2020, as Microsoft delivered faulty Xbox controllers to stores and customers alike. The Redmond-based company asked the US jurisdiction in February to resolve the issues outside the courtroom.

According to CSK&D (which filed similar cases against both Sony and Nintendo; the latter moved to arbitration in March 2020, and Nintendo immediately offered free repairs for the faulty Joy-Con controllers), a high volume of Xbox players (or PC players, as you can use the controller easily on a computer as well) have been affected by drifting issues caused by the general use of the controller. CSK&D remains committed to recuperating damages outside of court and has reportedly received a „sufficient volume” of defective controllers to support the case and prove that it’s not a limited issue but a more widespread one.

According to an expert examination of the Xbox One controllers, the conclusion was that the analogue stick drift is caused by a design flaw in the potentiometer. This component was described as „the mechanism that translates the physical movement of the thumbstick into movement within the video game.” CSK&D’s case alleges that this flaw has been present in Microsoft’s controller design across various models since 2014. Benjamin Johns, a partner of CSK&D, told The Loadout that this move to arbitration is „the end of the road,” as the case is now unlikely to ever enter a public court.

The manufacturers seem to limit the life of their products on purpose to make customers purchase more of them over and over to provide more revenue for them. Even the DualSense is not safe from the issue, as we mentioned before.

Source: Gamesindustry