This Week in Gaming: Xbox's 25th Anniversary Controller, Nintendo Switch 2 Price Hike & Gamescom 2026

It's been a busy stretch in the gaming world, and most of it centers on the thing you hold in your hands every time you play: the controller. Xbox is celebrating a milestone anniversary with a hardware throwback, Nintendo Switch 2 owners are about to pay more for the console, and Gamescom 2026 is about to open its doors in Cologne with a full week of hardware reveals. None of it happened in a vacuum — all three stories connect back to what you're playing on and what it costs to stay competitive.

Here's what's actually confirmed, what's still a leak, and what it means for your own setup.

Quick List: What We're Covering

• Xbox's 25th Anniversary lineup: the translucent OG Green XBOX Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition and matching XBOX Series X25 Limited Edition console
• Reported pricing and release timing for the X25 controller ahead of its Gamescom debut
• Nintendo Switch 2's confirmed $50 price increase, effective September 1, 2026
• Gamescom 2026 (August 26–30, Cologne) — why it's the biggest hardware week of the year
• What this all means for your own controller setup

Xbox Goes Translucent Green for Its 25th Anniversary

On June 7, 2026, during the Xbox Games Showcase, Xbox officially unveiled the XBOX 25th Anniversary collection: a translucent OG Green XBOX Series X25 Limited Edition console and a matching XBOX Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition. The design leans hard into nostalgia — the original ABXY color scheme, bumpers styled after the black-and-white buttons on the original "Duke" controller, a fully transparent back case and battery door, and the classic Xbox logo visible underneath. Xbox confirmed the console and controller will be sold together as a limited-edition bundle in select markets in November, with the controller also available separately.

Price and Release Date: What's Confirmed vs. Reported

At the June reveal, Xbox held back on pricing and availability, saying only that details were coming "soon." In the past few days, multiple outlets covering Xbox hardware leaks — including reports tied to insider sourcing ahead of Gamescom — have reported that the standalone X25 controller will be priced at $79.99 (£74.99 / €79.99), with pre-orders opening August 26, the same day Xbox kicks off its Gamescom 2026 presence, and a release date of October 20, 2026. Treat the design and November bundle as confirmed directly from Xbox; treat the specific price and October release date as strongly-sourced reporting that should become official any day now.

Nintendo Switch 2 Gets $50 More Expensive on September 1

This one isn't a rumor. Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed back in May that Switch 2 prices would rise across multiple regions, citing sustained increases in memory component costs, exchange rates, and other input costs. Japan's price increase already took effect on May 25. In the US, Canada, and Europe, the hike lands on September 1, 2026, pushing the US price from $449.99 to $499.99. Nintendo has reportedly already started updating in-store demo kiosks to reflect the new pricing ahead of the switch-over.

If you've been putting off a Switch 2 purchase, the next week is effectively the last window at the current price.

Gamescom 2026: The Backdrop for All of This

Gamescom runs August 26–30 in Cologne, Germany, and it's the single biggest hardware week on the gaming calendar. Xbox's Gamescom presence is exactly why the X25 controller pricing is expected to go fully official in the next few days — hardware makers routinely time pricing and pre-order announcements to the opening of the show. Expect a wave of peripheral and accessory news throughout the week from console makers and third-party controller manufacturers alike, on top of the game announcements the show is traditionally known for.

What This Means for Your Setup

A special-edition controller like the X25 is built to look great and celebrate 25 years of Xbox — it's a stock Microsoft wireless controller with a translucent shell, not a performance upgrade. It won't ship with paddles, adjustable trigger locks, or Hall Effect thumbsticks, and it isn't compatible with mod chip hardware out of the box. If the anniversary look has you thinking about your Xbox setup, that's exactly the gap a ModdedZone Xbox Series X|S Customizer or an Xbox Elite Series 2 Customizer is built to close — genuine first-party hardware, built to order, with the performance features a limited-edition shell doesn't include.

For Switch 2 owners watching the September 1 price hike, the calculus is a little different. ModdedZone's Nintendo customization is cosmetic-only — there's no MZ Titan OS mod chip or performance hardware available for Joy-Con or Nintendo Pro Controller, and we won't pretend otherwise. If a fresh look for your existing Joy-Con or Pro Controller is what you're after heading into the price change, that option is available without touching the console itself.

And if you're using any input-modifying hardware in competitive multiplayer, this is a good moment for a reminder we repeat often: Rapid Fire, anti-recoil, and similar performance mods can conflict with a given game's current ranked or competitive terms of service. Rules change by title and by season, so check what's currently allowed in whatever you're playing before you queue up.

Gear Up for the Anniversary Season

Whether you're chasing the nostalgia of Xbox's translucent green throwback or just want a controller that performs as good as it looks before Gamescom news starts flowing, ModdedZone builds from real Microsoft and Sony hardware with the mods and finishes off-the-shelf controllers don't offer. Start your build with the Xbox Series X|S Customizer or browse the full Xbox controller lineup.