So this is why Microsoft still uses AA batteries even in its next-gen console gamepads.

While Sony, creating the PlayStation 5, very seriously revised the DualSense controller, Microsoft not only practically did not change its gamepad, but even left it without a built-in battery, retaining power from conventional AA cells.

Back in the spring, the company announced that it had made such a decision, after consulting with gamers. Allegedly, a lot of Xbox users really want this format to be preserved, moreover, according to Microsoft, it gives more freedom.

However, it is possible that this decision of the company has another reason, connected not with gamers, but with money.

In an interview with Stealth Optional, Duracell’s marketing manager Luke Anderson appears to have accidentally or deliberately revealed the real reason Microsoft is still holding on to AA batteries.

This partnership with Duracell and Xbox has always been. This is an ongoing agreement between Duracell and Microsoft. The deal is with OEMs to supply rechargeable batteries for Xbox consoles as well as controller batteries. So this deal will be valid for a while. It has been in effect for a while now and I think it should continue for a while.

That is, to all appearances, Microsoft has long ago entered into some kind of major deal with Duracell, which it still cannot refuse. Therefore, in the new generation consoles, which use ultra-fast SSDs, hardware accelerated ray tracing and other modern technologies, there was no place for a gamepad with a normal rechargeable battery.

True, Microsoft has already managed to answer this, but did not refute the words of a Duracell representative. The company only repeated that it gives users a choice with its approach.