Heineken's Game Controller Will Let You Know When It's Time For A Drink

The next time your team gaming session gets too heated or stressful (or maybe it's just THAT time to take break), don't be surprised if your controller offers you a (non-alcoholic) beer. Or more precisely, prompts you to take a drink break plus the option to have said drink delivered to everyone on your team. At least, that's the dream Heineken (yes, the beer giant) has with its Cool Down Controller concept anyway.

Heineken has unveiled the Cool Down Controller at CCXP24, designed to deliver Heineken 0.0 during intense gaming moments. Using advanced sensors, it detects pressure and movement, triggering a refresh for the team when needed. ↓↓↓ pic.twitter.com/rwTBcTZ3SU

— playswave (@playswave_com) December 10, 2024

Demonstrated at CCXP (Comic-Con Experience) 24 in Brazil last week, the Heineken 0.0 Cool Down Controller is another of Heineken's curious foray into the hardcore gaming world. Last year, it showed off "TH3 G4M1NG FR1DG3"—a hybrid gaming rig with a built-in fridge. After all, since gaming PCs need lots of cooling, why not build a custom one that can cool your favorite beverage, right?

Unlike the fridge that was demoed with bottles of straight-up alcoholic Heineken, the Cool Down Controller is marketed as a delivery device for the company's Heineken 0.0 non-alcoholic beverage. (Technically, Heineken 0.0 has 0.03 percent alcohol content, but that's negligible enough to quality as non-alcoholic.) Using advanced sensors that monitor button pressure and movement, the controller supposedly knows when to "refresh" players. When the system is triggered, the controller's lights turn from green to red, and will automatically trigger a special delivery service to send Heineken 0.0 to each person on the player's team.


The controller was designed in collaboration with LePub Sao Paulo and Milan, of which its CCO Felipe Cury said, "Our goal was to offer a fun and sociable solution that lightens the mood, bringing the excitement back to the forefront and giving everyone a reason to pause, reconnect, and dive back into the game together."

Of course, we have a lot of questions (and it doesn't help that Heineken didn't say how the delivery service would work IRL): How does the controller determine whether each person on the team is located in one location or separately? Can each player order more than one drink at a time? How to prevent players in the team using Cool Down Controllers from sending drinks to each other simultaneously? How quick is that delivery service? The list of queries goes on...

Heineken isn't the first to take a crack at gaming hardware; anybody remember the spectacularly delicious KFConsole? Back in 2020, KFC thought it'd be a great idea to merge an NUC-powered gaming console with an internal Chicken Chamber to keep your food warm. These are certainly fun and wild times we live in, folks.