While there are ways to use a mouse and keyboard on your Xbox One, it’s up for debate whether players should be doing this on their console in the first place, especially without any official support from Microsoft. Though a mouse and keyboard setup gives players an unfair advantage in many first-person shooter titles over those who use a controller, it’s also huge benefit for players who have accessibility concerns.
Today, Microsoft’s corporate vice president, Mike Ybarra, responded to a question that addressed concerns about players who use mouse and keyboard adapters like XIM to play shooters. Ybarra’s response inadvertently acknowledged that Microsoft is aware many players do this, while also stating that the company leaves this choice up to the game developers, whether they will block players who use this setup.
Developers have the choice to use APIs that detect and not allow these. It’s up to them, but the capability is there. https://t.co/jE97R6oj0c
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) February 18, 2018
Ybarra goes on to explain they leave it up to the developers not just because of player accessibility, but also because Microsoft wants to empower its developers and let them manage the game how they see fit.
With more of Xbox One’s integration with Windows 10, though, using a mouse and keyboard on the console has been a growing topic, so we could be seeing an official keyboard and mouse set-up coming to the Xbox One soon.
At E3 2016, Xbox head Phil Spencer said the Xbox One will have this support at some point, but that a release could take months. It’s been two years now, and there is still little information of when gamers can expect this. At PAX West 2017, Ybarra assured fans that it is still “definitely coming.”
This post was originally written by Victoria Morrow.
