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Thrustmaster’s T248 All-in-One Steering Kit for Xbox Misses Forza Horizon 5 Launch

Thrustmaster’s new T248 hybrid drive wheel already went on sale in Europe and North America last month, but the unit sold by the French company is aimed exclusively at PlayStation players. If you own a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5, you can buy a Thrustmaster T248 right now for €350 / $400, it’s one of the best investments you can make if you’re looking for an entry-level all-in-one steering kit for Sony’s gaming console.
Thrustmaster T248 steering kit 6 photos
Photo: Thrustmaster
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Over the weekend, Thrustmaster revealed that a different version of the T248 officially licensed for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One will be available for purchase soon. More importantly, the drive wheel will be fully compatible with PC. Unfortunately, information about price and availability hasn’t been disclosed yet, but Thrustmaster promised to offer more details on December 2.

While we don’t see a reason for Thrustmaster to bump the price of the Xbox-compatible T248, we can’t overlook the fact that the hybrid drive wheel missed one of the most important moments of the year: the Forza Horizon 5 launch.

If Thrustmaster would have made the T248 available to Xbox and PC players in the first two weeks of November, sales would have surely increased. Sadly, we now know for sure that the drive wheel won’t be available until at least December.

No images of the new T248 version for Xbox have been released, but Thrustmaster released a 15-second teaser that shows the hybrid drive wheel. From what we’re seeing the only difference between the PlayStation and Xbox versions is buttons specific for each gaming console.

Obviously, the chipset inside the Xbox variant was made to work on Microsoft devices, but other than that, functionality remains the same. The T248 features 25 action buttons, as well as 2 dual-position encoders.

Also, the new hybrid drive system offers up to 70% more power than the previous Thrustmaster racing wheel, the T150. Finally, the T248 features more than 20 different displays on its built-in screen that provide all the information required during races.

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