Sony dropped a surprise hardware announcement during the Gamescom Opening Night Live stream today. The DualSense Edge is the PlayStation 5's "first-ever high-performance, ultra-customizable controller," and one that could rival Xbox's excellent Elite Series 2 controllers.
The new controller features everything a standard DualSense controller offers plus a bunch of customization features, potentially making one of the best PC controllers gaming even more appealing.
The buttons on the PS5 DualSense Edge can be completely remapped, and stick sensitivity and dead zones can be tuned. You can even reduce the trigger travel for faster inputs in shooters, much like the Xbox Elite Series 2 wireless controllers.
That's not the only similarity between the high-end controllers. The Edge will be packaged with three swappable stick caps (standard, high, and low dome) and two sets of back buttons (low and high dome). PlayStation will also sell replacement stick modules, so if you wear them down to the nub, you won't need to buy an entirely new controller.
The controller and all of its bits and bobs live inside its carrying case with a braided USB Type-C cable which can be locked into the controller using a special connector housing.
The Edge will feature the ability to save multiple control profiles that you can swap on the fly using the on-controller interface. That same interface manages your in-chat balance and game volume, as well.
"We wanted to build on the legacy of iconic PlayStation controllers by creating a controller that empowers players to experiment and personalize elements based on their own unique playstyle—whether they are a competitive gamer or someone who just enjoys having more options to customize their play," said art director Daisuke Kurihara. "The DualSense Edge wireless controller also features a number of thoughtful design touches that we hope players will enjoy, including a distinct DualSense controller-inspired black-and-white color scheme and a unique PlayStation Shapes pattern on the touch pad and trigger surfaces."
While no release date or pricing was revealed, more info should be coming in the next few months. Here's hoping we get some fun new colors.
Catch up with our full list of Gamescom announcements from Opening Night Live and check our Gamescom schedule to find out when to watch everything else.
