Xbox One will be possible to control with mouse and keyboard in the future

The Xbox One may receive mouse input support in the future. That’s what Xbox boss Phil Spencer reported. USB keyboard input support is already there. Using the mouse and keyboard with the Xbox One could have a major impact on gameplay.

Phil Spencer discusses the possibility in reaction to a question from a fan, who would like to see the addition so he can use it with the upcoming RTS game Halo Wars 2. Spencer says the feature won’t be present at the time of that game’s release. “But this is support that we’d love to add once it comes to the Xbox platform,” he says.

At the moment it is technically possible to mimic the input of an Xbox One controller with a mouse and keyboard, but that would require unofficial adapters. These often don’t work flawlessly, since the input from a mouse has to be translated to the input from a joystick, which is essentially different in nature.

The competing PlayStation 4 already has such functionality, but it is limited to a keyboard and mouse from Hori, which it manufactures under license from Sony. Unofficial adapters are also available for the PlayStation to support other mice and keyboards.