PlayStation has revealed that it will soon start taking preorders for its PS5 Access Controller, formerly known as Project Leonardo. We were first informed that PlayStation was working on Project Leonardo during the Consumer Electronics Show 2023. Starting on July 21, 2023, preorders will be accepted at the PlayStation Store and various other retailers for the PS5 Access Controller, and it will be priced at USD 89.99. The controllers will start to be shipped on December 6, 2023.
This Access Controller will allow anyone who has a disability that stops from playing games on the PlayStation 5 to join in on the fun. With this, PlayStation followed Xbox’s lead to include more gamers that would have otherwise been left out. This controller allows gamers to map buttons to create up to 30 control profiles, adjust stick settings, toggle commands on/off, and disable buttons to prevent accidental button presses. PlayStation has stated that connecting two Access controllers and one DualSense wireless controller together is possible while gaming on the PlayStation 5.
The downside to this controller is that this is strictly for the PlayStation 5, and that’s a bit frustrating. Just like the DualSense, PlayStation revealed some time ago that this accessibility controller will not work with the PC, regardless that there are several PlayStation 5 games now on the PC. Hopefully, PlayStation rethinks this stance, there are PC gamers with disabilities who play PlayStation games, and this controller would serve them well. It’s worth mentioning that the Xbox Adaptive Controller works with the PC.
While it took PlayStation a while to get this, I’m happy we’re closer to this being released.