New Google Chrome gaming feature will let you get the most out of your Xbox controller

New Google Chrome gaming feature will let you get the most out of your Xbox controller

What you need to know

• Google Chrome will soon support localized haptic feedback through impulse triggers.
• The feature is currently in testing and expected to ship with Chrome version 126.
• Chrome already supports general haptic feedback that makes an entire controller vibrate but the new feature will allow controllers to send specific haptic feedback through impulse triggers.

Google Chrome will soon support a gaming feature that improves immersion when using the best Xbox controllers or other high-end gamepads. The Xbox Wireless Controller, the Razer Wolverine Ultimate, and other controllers with impulse triggers will be able to vibrate triggers rather than the entire controller when playing games through Chrome. The upgrade comes courtesy of an extension of the GamepadHapticActuator interface.

“This extension will allow web applications that take advantage of the Gamepad API to also vibrate the triggers of gamepad devices that come equipped with this functionality,” said Google’s documentation.

The Gamepad Haptics Extension already supports haptic feedback and vibration through a gamepad, but that feature is for the entire gamepad vibrating. The extension discussed on the Chrome Platform Status page, which was spotted by Windows Report, refers to trigger rumble effects, which involves localized haptic feedback specific to the triggers of a controller.

Impulse triggers provide more specific feedback, such as allowing you to feel impact within the triggers while shooting within a game. Unfortunately, many games do not take advantage of the feature and fall back to generic controller vibrations. But when using a game that supports the feature, impulse triggers with haptic feedback increase immersion.

The Xbox Wireless Controller and the Razer Wolverine Ultimate feature impulse triggers with localized feedback. The GameSir G7 SE Wired Controller does as well, though Google didn’t mention that controller specifically. It seems likely that any controller with impulse triggers will work with the feature and that Google just listed two of the best-known controllers with impulse triggers.

The feature that enables trigger rumble is planned to ship with Chrome version 126. Chrome version 124 is currently in the stable channel, so we shouldn’t have to wait long to enjoy haptic feedback through triggers when playing games through Chrome.

Xbox Cloud Gaming in Chrome

The most natural use case of the new feature in Chrome would be Xbox Cloud Gaming. But that would require support from both Microsoft and the Chrome browser. Since impulse trigger support hasn’t rolled out to Chrome yet, it’s not clear if Xbox Cloud Gaming will utilize the feature when playing supported titles through the browser.

Xbox Cloud Gaming has a library that includes hundreds of Xbox games. Those games are playable through the web, Windows PCs, Android devices, and some Samsung televisions. The number of supported devices continues to expand but the number of games available through the service is what could rise dramatically later this year. Microsoft is working on the ability to play your own digital games through Xbox Cloud Gaming.

In a conversation earlier this year, Xbox lead Phil Spencer said that Microsoft expects to launch the ability to stream your own games through Xbox Cloud Gaming this year. That would be one of the biggest boosts to Xbox Cloud Gaming we’ve seen in a long time.