Microsoft has confirmed the first Xbox One games to support mouse and keyboard input are on the way.
Speaking at the Pax West expo, Mike Ybarra, the Corporate Vice President of Xbox and Windows gaming, said the feature would be introduced soon.
He said (via Neowin): “So you’ll see our first games supporting keyboard and mouse soon, I can’t announce what that is, but soon. And based on developer interest, they’ll choose to do keyboard and mouse, or not!”
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In the latest indication of the increased synergy between its Windows and Xbox gaming platforms, Microsoft said it plans to coach developers on how best to add support for the controller alternatives.
According to Ybarra, a lot will come down to the multiplayer realm, where having more precise input devices could give certain gamers an advantage.
He added: “We’ll leave it a lot up to developer choice. A lot of people tweet me and say “you can’t do this because of fairness,” and we understand that. We run two platforms; the Xbox platform, and the Windows platform.
“And so, when we bring keyboard and mouse, we’ll coach developers and say “look, you’ve got to think about your multiplayer pools.”
One solution could be to allow gamers to choose who they go up against in online match-ups, meaning they can select either controller-only, mouse and keyboard-only or a mix of both.
He added: “If you have a competitive game, people are probably going to want the choice to say I’ll play with other keyboard and mouse people or I’ll play only with controller people, or that I’ll play with any of those.”
Initially, it could support games like Minecraft, which Microsoft has full control over, and isn’t susceptible to any unfairness issues.
Are you looking forward to playing Xbox One games with a keyboard and mouse? Is the gap between console and PC gaming becoming smaller by the day? Drop us a tweet @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
