The wait is over: You can finally use an Xbox One controller on your PC

Starting today you'll be able to play all of your favorite PC games with an Xbox One controller, thanks to an official update from Microsoft.

The long-awaited drivers the company promised a few months ago have finally gotten the green light and are available to download in both 32- and 64-bit varieties on Xbox Evangelist Larry Hyrb's blog, majornelson.com.

"We know our fans have wanted PC compatibility, and we know they wanted to be able to use the Xbox One controller with the same games and applications they have been playing with using the Xbox 360 controller," said Hyrb on his blog.

"We can't wait for them to play their favorite PC games with what we consider the best controller ever made and we're excited for fans to experience the improved D-pad, redesigned battery compartment, new comfortable design and offset analog sticks."

Hyrb explained the new PC drivers will make the controllers compatible with any title that featured gamepad support for Xbox 360 controllers. All you'll need is the driver and a microUSB cable to hook up the Xbox One controller to your computer.

Stepping its game up

This PC-oriented update comes in the wake of Xbox's major June update that promises, among other things, external hard drive support, real name support, and One Guide support to the UK.

Using an Xbox 360 controller as the go-to peripheral for PC gaming has been a staple for the last seven years, so it's nice to see Microsoft continuing that trend with its new system. Even better is the fact that you'll be able to use the Xbox One controller with every game that already takes an Xbox 360 controller as input.

While the drivers won't be an official part of a Windows update for some time, making them available to the public - and one week before E3, no less - is a commendable, smart move on Microsoft's part.

• There's an Xbox One review with your name on it.