Secret messages in the Gears of War 4 Xbox Elite controllers have been revealed on Twitter. Released in 2016 alongside the Coalition-developed third-person-shooter, the Gears-themed Elite controller has a gritty black and red color scheme and sports details like claw marks and weapons on the faceted D-pad. Like all other Xbox Elite controllers, it comes with accessories like paddles, interchangeable thumbsticks and D-pads, and more. While owners may have noticed the controller’s hidden messages before, they have been pointed out by the Senior Product Planner at Xbox on Twitter.
In celebration of Xbox’s 20th Anniversary, a Gears 5 event organizer, CrimsonGOW asked fans on Twitter if they owned Gears of War Elite controllers, prompting players to show off their collections. Special Xbox controllers that were made for each mainline Gears release popped up in CrimsonGOW’s replies. Since The Coalition seems to be developing a new Xbox IP, perhaps Xbox would celebrate by designing another controller for fans to add to their collections.
James Shields, the Senior Product Planner at Xbox, responded on Twitter and explained that each Elite controller has a message engraved on the bottom of the left thumbstick. He further revealed that there were a total of five different messages inscribed into the thumbsticks, some rarer than others. The rarest message is the initials of James Dominic Fenix, Marcus’s son and the main character of Gears of War 4.
These Easter Eggs may remind fans of Gears of War's more emotional moments and this Twitter message prompted many Gears fans to dig out their Elite controllers to see its hidden secret message. One gamer even pointed out “Grub Killer” written underneath the interchangeable D-pad. When asked by CrimsonGOW, James Shields reveals the five messages are “JDF,” “Welcome home,” “Never fight alone,” “Fear the swarm,” and of course, “Gears of War 4.” While some may have known about the controller’s hidden messages before, the rarity of different messages is certainly notable.
The Easter Eggs and amount of detail in not just the Gears of War 4 controllers but other Xbox products is impressive. It is always great to see the creativity on display from the team at Xbox, even years after a product has launched. For example, an Easter Egg in the original Xbox dashboard has been discovered after twenty years. It is a subtle and appreciated nod to fans of Xbox everywhere. Gamers can only hope to see more of these secret messages or Easter Eggs in Xbox products in the future. Of course, there is always a Master Chief hiding somewhere inside a console.
Source: James Shields/Twitter