Xbox Design Lab is back after eight months of absence

Microsoft announced the Xbox Design Lab back in 2016, allowing fans to create Xbox controllers with customized skins based on their own designs. The program has been quite popular in the past decade or so, as Redmond has been introducing new aesthetics for various controllers and accessories. However, the website had been down since December 2024, but it is now finally back.

The Xbox Design Lab website went down almost eight months ago, with a notice stating that the platform is changing payment processors. Now, it appears that this transition is finally complete as Microsoft has relaunched the Xbox Design Lab portal:

The company has stated that there are more design combinations to create now than ever. The Xbox Design Lab itself still allows customers to "build" Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, adaptive thumbstick toppers, and Xbox Elite accessories and components, among other things.

The rest of the portal seems the same materially. It is interesting to note that the website asks users to check out the Xbox Gear Shop too, but that seems to be down now instead. For those unaware, the Xbox Gear Shop offers gaming merchandize like branded shirts, pins, caps, collectible figures, and more. It's unclear why the Xbox Gear Shop is gone for now, but those who need customer support can reach out to [email protected].

The return of the Xbox Design Lab will certainly please gamers who are overflowing with creative juices (and cash) or just want to highlight their aesthetic choices or favorite games. You can visit the Xbox Design Lab here to begin creating your controller, but keep in mind that once you submit an order, you cannot cancel or return it - the latter because it has been personalized especially for you and may not appeal to anyone else.