Xbox Design Lab's Temporary Closure Hints at One of Three Things

gamerant.com:

In a shocking announcement,Microsoft has closed the Xbox Design Lab. Fans may know that this is a method of creating personal custom controllers from Xbox, at a premium cost of course. One of the most unique elements of the Xbox Design Lab is the ability to engrave something into the controller, typically an Xbox Gamertag.

It should be noted that the Xbox Design Lab has closed before—prior to the release of the Xbox Series X. It opened back up a few months later, with most signs pointing to the closure being due to supply issues with COVID-19. Obviously, this doesn’t seem to be the case here, not just because supply has improved, but because the website says that Microsoft techs are working on something.

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Ultimately, its closure suggests one of three things, but there’s one big determining factor. If it opens in a matter of hours or just a couple of days, it’s probably nothing big. If it hasn’t been re-opened by the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, it’s more likely to be something big.

The simplest reason for the closure is obvious: updating the design lab with new customization options, as well as more customizable parts. Notably, the face button customization on the Xbox Design Lab wasn’t the most in-depth, and there are a ton of ways the general choices could be improved. All in all, if it’s re-opened soon and even if it isn’t, this is the most likely result.

The second possibility is also viable and would perhaps be the most exciting option. With or without the above, introducing the option to customize Xbox Elite controllers would certainly be welcome. That would automatically come with more options and a higher price, but as the Xbox Design Lab currently only