The design and color scheme of the PS5, with its white and black dual-sense controller, continues to be controversial. And there is no official option to change the color of either the console or the controller.

However, a variation exists that adds gold highlights to the basic two-tone DualSense palette. Unfortunately, it is not available at GameStop.

This controller was posted on LinkedIn by Joey Rabbit, product design manager for PlayStation. The controller cannot be seen from the front, but from this angle you can see that the bottom half of the controller has changed from black to gold. The rest of the controller remains white, the same as the standard DualSense that everyone will get with the PS5.

The controller is labeled "PS5 Launch Team," meaning that to get one you must be a member of the team that helped launch the console last year. Judging from Rabbit's post, there will also be Launch Team clothing (like a jacket, as far as we can tell) and a special plaque.

It is not clear how much of this swag went to everyone and how much was just for Rabbit, who held a senior position on the launch team.

Sadly, Sony has not revealed any plans to release PS5 hardware in new colors. The problem is doing so in a way that does not affect the warranty.

Replacing the PS5 color scheme is not that difficult. Companies like PlateStation have already stepped in and allowed people to replace the plates on their consoles without much effort. This method was used by SUP3R5 on the black PS5, but it never really saw the light of day.

Custom dual-sense controllers are a bit different, and SUP3R5 made it clear that its custom black controllers are not covered by Sony's warranty. Several companies have begun offering custom covers, but they are not really the same, as they only cover the black part and not the entire controller.

In other words, any hypothetical option would have to be either provided directly by Sony (or a licensed third party) or willingly asked to be excluded from normal consumer protection. Given the reports of controllers' adaptive triggers "cutting out," the last option is not recommended.

But at least the fact that a gold DualSense controller has been released means that Sony could make more colorful variations if it wanted to. That said, they may need to wait for the inventory issue to settle down a bit, because there's no point in selling frivolous accessories if you can't find a place to buy a PS5.