Backbone has announced a new limited-edition smartphone controller, inspired by Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Developed in collaboration with Kojima Productions and PlayStation, the Backbone One: Death Stranding 2 Edition controller is priced at $160 and it’ll be limited to 1,350 units. Preorders open on November 6 at Best Buy, the Kojima Productions Store, and Backbone’s own site.
Built on the same model as the PlayStation-inspired version of the Backbone One, this controller features design cues to make it look like it came straight out of Death Stranding 2 and it comes packaged inside of a collectible–and numbered–Pelican case. The controller draws from the colors of Sam Porter Bridges’ world and Drawbridge, and it has transparent windows on the front so that you can see the inner workings of this device.
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Like other Backbone One controllers, the “Gen 2” version has a reshaped D-pad and magnetic adapters that allow you to fit it to your phone without needing to remove its protective cover if it’s standard-sized. Applying one of these to an Android or iPhone essentially turns the device into a handheld gaming console, as they have all the inputs you’d expect from a modern controller, like analog sticks, face and shoulder buttons, triggers, and more. When not in use, the controller folds up to take less space.
This isn’t the first time that Backbone has released a Death Stranding controller, as last year it released one inspired by Death Stranding: Director’s Cut. The controller was also infamous for its choice of color, with many people remarking that the transparent yellow plastic bore quite a resemblance to certain bodily fluids.
The new Backbone controller will likely sell out fast, but you can pick up the current models through Amazon in the standard colors of black and white. The Backbone One with a USB-C connection is available for $100, and if you have an older iPhone, the Backbone One with a Lightning connection is available at the same price.
You can also pick up a Backbone Pro–the company’s premium smartphone controller–for $170, and this version features redesigned ergonomics and high-quality components like a textured finish, quieter face buttons, full-sized ALPS analog sticks, Hall Effect triggers, and two remappable back buttons.
Death Stranding 2: on the Beach was released for PS5 earlier this year, and since then, Kojima Productions has continued work on expanding the IP. A trailer for the upcoming Death Stranding anime film was recently shown off, and the live-action movie from director Michael Sarnoski and A24 is in the early stages of development.
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