Xbox One controllers are compatible with PC despite rumors to the contrary, says Penello

Despite earlier claims that Xbox One controllers would be incompatible with Windows PC, Microsoft's director of product management, Albert Penello, confirmed the controllers will work with Windows PC games.

Penello took to the NeoGAF to address earlier rumors of the development of a Windows PC-specific controller and Microsoft's alleged plans to lock out controller compatibility for the Windows system on currently available Xbox One controllers.

"This is 100% wrong," Penello wrote. "When the drivers become available, they will work with the existing controllers. There is no plan to do a new, separate controller that only works on Windows. It will be the same as it is on Xbox 360 - the Xbox One controller you have today will work.

"That's not to say that we may not ship also PC SKU of the Xbox One controller, much like we do on Xbox 360."

Xbox One controllers will work with Windows PC in wired mode; however, whether Microsoft will implement wireless compatibility is yet to be decided, Penello continued.

"No more updates on the timeframe beyond what's been publicly stated," said Penello. "The plan is this year. When the update comes out and we have more details, I can explain the holdup."

The Xbox One's controller will eventually be compatible with Windows PCs, and Microsoft is hoping to add that functionality by 2014, Microsoft said last year.

"New wireless protocol, combined with the ability to work in ‘wired' mode, and the addition of features like Impulse triggers, means that new software has to be written and optimized for the PC," a Microsoft spokesperson said at the time. "There is also some work that we need to do to make sure that existing PC games that support the Xbox 360 controller will work with the Xbox One controller."