Community puzzles over disgusting controller infestation

A strange controller infestation is causing a lot of guesswork in the Xbox community. A gamer posted a picture on Reddit of their gamepad looking like it’s been infected by the Cordyceps fungus from The Last of Us.

Xbox: Controller has nasty infestation

What happened to this controller? An Xbox owner reached out to the community on Reddit with this question — and his picture gives rise to some wild theories. On the back of the gamepad, a kind of network seems to be spreading, which makes the alarm bells ring in the comments under the thread.

Xbox: Reddit community puzzles over gamepad

User Prestigious-Form4496’s Xbox Elite Controller has undoubtedly seen better days, but what exactly triggered the gamepad’s odd defacement? The back looks like it’s suffering from an acute fungal infestation, but alongside the unstoppable Cordyceps from The Last of Us universe, the community is speculating it could be either battery acid leakage, electrolysis after being electrocuted, or a reaction of the plastic with certain chemical cleaners or disinfectants could act. Sweaty fingers are also given as a reason.

According to the user can scrape the strange substance off the controller. He doesn’t say he’ll continue to use the gamepad, but some commenters strongly advise against it.

• “Honestly, this looks like a battery leak to me. If the battery acid does leak, I would recommend throwing the controller away and replacing it immediately. Broken lithium-ion batteries can be very dangerous.” (Reddit user CN122)
• “I suspect something on your hands has reacted with the protective material. Probably hand sanitizer or something.” (Reddit user Shawn_purdy)
• “I wouldn’t touch this without knowing what it is without gloves.” (Reddit user brokenmessiah)

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