The divisive design and color scheme of the PS5 continues with the white and black, DualSense controller. And there's no official option to change the colors of wither the console of the controller.
But there is one extra variant out there, adding some gold highlights to the otherwise basic two-tone DualSense palette. Unfortunately, you can’t just head out to GameStop and buy one for yourself.
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The controller appeared on a public LinkedIn post by PlayStation product design manager Joey Rabbit. We don’t get to see a full-frontal view of the controller, but from the angle we can see that the lower half of the controller is now gold instead of black. The rest is still white, just like the standard DualSense everyone gets with their PS5.
The controller bears the label “PS5 Launch Team,” meaning the only way you could get your hands on one was to be a member of the team that helped launch the console last year. Judging from Rabbit’s post there is also launch team clothing (a jacket of some kind as best we can tell) and a special plaque.
It’s not clear how much of this swag went out to everyone and how much was exclusive to Rabbit, who held a senior position on the launch team.
Sadly Sony hasn’t revealed any plans to release any PS5 hardware in new colors, though we have seen unofficial sources try and fill the gaps. The problem is doing it in a way that doesn’t affect the warranty.
Swapping up the PS5's color scheme isn’t so difficult, as we’ve already seen companies like PlateStation step in to let people swap out the plates on their consoles without too much effort. That method was also employed by SUP3R5 with its black PS5 that never actually saw the light of day.
Custom DualSense controllers are a little different, and SUP3R5 made it very clear that any of its custom black controllers would not be covered by Sony’s warranty because the process required them to be completely disassembled first. Some companies have started offering custom covers, but those only cover the black sections, and not the entire controller, so it’s not really the same.
In other words, any hypothetical options would either have to come directly from Sony (or a licensed third party) or ask you to willingly opt out of the usual consumer protections. Considering there are reports of the controller’s adaptive triggers “snapping” we wouldn’t recommend that last option.
But at the very least, the reveal of the gold DualSense controller means that Sony could make more colorful variants if it wanted to. Though we may have to wait for the stock issues to die down a bit, because there’s no point selling frivolous accessories if nobody can find where to buy a PS5.
