If you’re one of the few gamers that relies on a keyboard and mouse while playing PUBG on Xbox One, you’ll soon be relegated to the trusty ol’ controller.
A common albeit small issue for developers of competitive games on consoles, keyboard and mouse usage remains a hot topic of discussion among gaming communities, with many (most) believing that support should be straight up dropped, and the use of such devices considered a bannable offense.
There’s no doubting that a keyboard and mouse provides an immense advantage over players using a controller, and the good news is that most developers appear to be fairly active and vigilant when it comes to support for third-party add-ons.
Bluehole Studio, the team behind PUBG, is also well aware of the compromise to the competitive element of the game on Xbox One, and thankfully they’re actively searching for ways to stamp out such usage within the community.
Following a fan’s concern on Twitter, PUBG community manager, Dan “RoboDanjal”, said there was an effort to curb use of keyboard and mouse on console in future.
“Although usage of these devices is statistically very low, fair gameplay is core to our experience, and we will be communicating our plan to curb the use of these devices soon,” he said.
Perhaps most interesting about this is that Microsoft has said it will bring official keyboard support to Xbox One, although it doesn’t appear to be even close to coming to fruition. However, the console is still widely compatible with third-party keyboards, leading to a divide between gamers who clearly understand how to best take advantage of such support.
A year ago, Overwatch game director, Jeff Kaplan, hit out at reports that some console gamers were using a keyboard and mouse in competitive matches.
“The Overwatch team objects to the use of mouse and keyboard on console,” he said.
“We have contacted both first-party console manufacturers and expressed our concern about the use of mouse and keyboard and input conversion devices,” he said.
Ideally, Blizzard would like to see console manufacturers either diasallow mouse and keyboard all together — as well as input conversion devices — or, alternatively, openly and easily support mouse and keyboard for all players.
The PS4’s Keypad and Mouse are official PlayStation products, so the chances of Sony flat-out making it disallowed are very slim.
“I encourage you to reach out to the hardware manufacturers and express your concerns,” Kaplan said, hinting that Blizzard has its hands tied without the support of the console manufacturers. “But please do so in a productive and respectful way.”
The Xbox One doesn’t currently support keyboard and mouse, but company boss, Phil Spencer, hinted recently that it could yet come in the future.
A fan reached out to Xbox head, Phil Spencer, asking whether he thought mouse and keyboard use on console led to an unfair advantage.
“Clearly in some cases mouse and keyboard is an advantage,” Spencer said. “I’m a fan of giving the tools to studios and they’ll do what’s best for their games.”
The Xbox One doesn’t currently support keyboard and mouse, Spencer hinted recently that it could yet come in the future.
“It won’t be there at launch but this is support we’d like to add as it comes to the Xbox platform,” he said when asked if Halo Wars 2 would support mouse and keyboard on Xbox One.
