Thrustmaster announces T.Flight Hotas One Xbox One, Windows joystick

Peripherals specialist Thrustmaster has announced the impending launch of a new entry in its T.Flight Hotas range, offering official support for the Xbox One console for the first time - with particular focus on fans of Frontier's Elite Dangerous.

Based almost entirely upon the company's existing T.Flight Hotas joystick design, the Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas One differs only in the addition of the extra buttons required of an officially-licensed Xbox One controller. Naturally, these don't come at the cost of Windows compatibility: Thrustmaster has confirmed that the joystick has received the necessary certification from Microsoft to be sold as a fully-compatible accessory for both the Xbox One and PCs running Windows 7, 8.1, and 10, all of which connect via the moulded USB cable on the rear of the joystick.

The ability to use a flight stick and throttle pairing with the Xbox One is only of interest if there are games which support said input methods, of course, and Thrustmaster is well aware of this fact: The company has announced a partnership with Frontier on a patch, released earlier this week, which adds T.Flight Hotas One support to the game's Xbox One port. This includes the use of the joystick's built-in dual rudder system - accessible either by twisting the stick itself or by locking the stick and using a dedicated tilting lever at the front of the throttle section - or Thurstamster's T.Flight Rudder Pedals set, which connects to an 'ecosystem-ready port' on the back of the joystick.

Thrustmaster has confirmed an October 7th launch date for the joystick at a US recommended retail price of $79.99 (around £60 excluding taxes). UK pricing is not yet available, though more information can be found on the official product page.