This wireless controller has been the Xbox 360's standard controller option ever since the console first shipped in November 2005. In fact, the 360 was the first major console (of the offerings of Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo) to come with a wireless controller in the package. The controllers are powered by either AA batteries or a rechargable battery pack.

The overall shape is rounder and sleeker than the redesigned controllers of the original Xbox, but the button layout is nearly unchanged. Dual analog sticks are positioned so that a user can operate one with each thumb, and both can be clicked down as buttons. The right half of the controller includes the four main face buttons (A, B, X, and Y) and the left half includes the 8-way directional pad. The symmetric analog triggers on each shoulder are smaller than their predecessors', and are still positioned to fit naturally under each index finger. The original Xbox's redesigned controllers had an additional black button and white button below the four main face buttons, which are replaced instead on the 360 controller by a second pair of shoulder buttons called bumpers. All 360 controllers also include a select button, a start button, and a completely new button that powers the console on and off, as well as brings up the Xbox 360 dashboard.