A New Era for Xbox: Enhanced Compatibility with Fanatec Steering Wheels

For years, Xbox gamers have enjoyed the thrill of racing games, but their experience with steering wheels has been somewhat restricted. While Xbox-licensed wheels like the ClubSport Steering Wheel Formula V2.5 X have offered exceptional build quality and advanced features, some of these features couldn’t be fully utilized on Xbox consoles. Input restrictions meant that additional buttons or switches on steering wheels were often inactive or redundant, and displays, LED indicators, and other advanced functionalities remained inaccessible.

However, a significant shift in Xbox's system support is ushering in a new era for racing peripherals. Fanatec has been working behind the scenes on an SDK (Software Development Kit) for Xbox, designed to give game developers the ability to integrate support for advanced inputs, displays, LEDs, and more. This development represents a huge step forward in ensuring that Xbox users can experience the full capabilities of their Fanatec steering wheels, unlocking all the features they’ve been waiting for.

The release of Fanatec Driver 467 brings firmware updates that enable these features, meaning Xbox-licensed wheels can now support things like the RevLEDs, displays, and additional button inputs. This update, while just the beginning, has already yielded promising results. For example, the current entry in the Forza Motorsport series, Forza Motorsport (2023) now supports the RevLEDs and display, providing players with a richer, more immersive experience on Xbox.

Game developers are now equipped with the tools to fully integrate the Fanatec SDK, and Fanatec will continue to work with developers to expand feature support in their Xbox games. Xbox sim racers are now poised to enjoy a more immersive and enjoyable racing experience than ever before.https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/forza-motorsport-standard-edition/9PLKVSWR299F/

The new support means that it was necessary to adjust the button input layout on all Xbox-compatible wheels and button modules. Secondary buttons and switches that previously duplicated inputs are now assigned as unique buttons that must be implemented by the game developer. The images below show the new input layouts, where the unique buttons that require game implementation are marked ‘SDK’.

Standard button cluster layout shown above. Rearranging the cluster connectors inside the Hub will change the input layout.