The company wasn’t more specific about the problems, but it comes after a class action lawsuit filed in April over drifting thumbstick input on both the Series 2 and the original Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. Similar to the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con drift, the Xbox gamepads supposedly develop unwanted movement that wrecks gameplay and forces repairs. Other controllers are affected well, the plaintiffs claimed.
It’s not certain if the warranty extension is in response to the lawsuit, or if Microsoft has addressed issues with later production runs. Whatever the case, there’s little doubt that Microsoft is eager to avoid any further uproar over its controller quality.