Xbox has officially announced the Xbox Nano Controller, a $49.99 pocket-size gamepad it calls its smallest controller ever — designed, in the company’s words, to fit “nearly every pocket and budget.” The tiny pad is aimed at younger players, smaller hands, and anyone who wants a controller they can genuinely take anywhere.
The announcement landed on the official Xbox Wire blog on October 14, with pre-orders opening the same day ahead of a November 4 launch across 36 markets, including the US, UK, Japan and much of Europe, with additional markets to follow.
Smaller Than Your Phone, All 18 Inputs
The Nano Controller measures a little over 5 inches in length and weighs just 3.5 ounces — lighter and shorter than most modern smartphones, according to Xbox. Despite the shrunken footprint, it keeps all 18 standard gameplay inputs, delivering the familiar controller layout players already love, so nothing has to be relearned.
The feature set is more complete than the tiny frame suggests. There’s a built-in rechargeable battery — no AA-swapping here — plus a programmable Action Button that can be customized for screenshots, gameplay capture and other frequently used shortcuts. Connectivity covers both Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth, and the pad works across a range of compatible devices: Xbox consoles, Windows PCs, iOS and Android devices, and select smart TVs.
What we don’t know yet: Microsoft hasn’t shared battery life estimates or color options, and there’s no word on rumble or impulse triggers, as TechPowerUp noted in its hands-on with the specs.
Built for the Family and the Cloud
Xbox is positioning the Nano as an easy second (or third, or fourth) controller for shared play. The announcement name-drops games like Minecraft Dungeons II, where up to four heroes can team up for local co-op in the living room or online, and suggests slipping the pad into a bag to take Forza Horizon 6 beyond the living room — “whether you’re traveling, visiting friends and family, or simply taking games on the go.”
There’s a cloud angle, too. In the US, Xbox is teaming up with Samsung on a holiday offer bundling the Nano Controller with 2 months of Game Pass Ultimate (for new members) with the purchase of select Samsung TVs — the Xbox app’s Gaming Hub built into Samsung TVs lets players use their cloud playtime to stream hundreds of Game Pass titles by simply connecting a controller. A similar holiday bundle is coming with Meta Quest headsets, pairing the Nano with a 2-month Game Pass Ultimate subscription for new members.
The Price Question
At $49.99, the Nano costs noticeably more than other compact controllers — CRKD’s Atom+ runs $29.99 and 8BitDo’s Lite 2 is $34.99. Native Xbox Wireless support might justify some of that premium for Xbox households, though as TechPowerUp observes, battery life will probably decide whether it’s worth it.
The timing is also worth watching: starting in November, Xbox Cloud Gaming moves to monthly time limits — 15 hours for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, 10 for Premium and 5 for Essential, with extra hours costing more. That makes cheap, pocketable controllers like the Nano a more interesting proposition for cloud-first households, even as the all-you-can-stream era ends.