Xbox One Is Getting Keyboard and Mouse Support

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that the Xbox One will soon have mouse and keyboard support, a feature that’s rolling out first to Xbox Insiders.

Confirming past rumors that suggested Microsoft was teaming up with Razer, the gaming hardware company known for its PC peripherals, Microsoft’s announcement on the Xbox Wire said that the mouse and keyboard support would begin rolling out over the next few weeks. Not every game will support the feature though with developers able to choose whether they want their games to support the use of a mouse and keyboard, Microsoft said.

“With this new input support at the platform level, developers can now build mouse and keyboard support in their games if and how they choose,” Microsoft said. “It’s important to note that mouse and keyboard support for games is added on a title-by-title basis, entirely at developers’ discretion. For all other titles, nothing changes. Mouse and keyboard input is not enabled by default for games.”

With the decision left up to the developers, Microsoft said that it trusts the game creators to judge whether or not using a keyboard and mouse is appropriate or not. Shooters and other competitive games that call for precise aiming, for example, are usually a point of contention when it comes to keyboard and mouse users versus those who stick to controllers, so seeing the support enabled in those types of games doesn’t seem as likely.

While Microsoft is partnering with Razer, Xbox One owners won’t be restricted to just using the company’s devices with Microsoft saying that most wired or wireless USB keyboards and mice will work. But to give its players access to “best-in-class hardware,” Microsoft said that it’s working with Razer to put new devices in people’s hands.

“That’s why we’re partnering with a premiere peripheral manufacturer in the gaming hardware space – Razer – to bring you the best possible mouse and keyboard experience for this new functionality. We’ll have more to share soon on this partnership, but for now check out Razer’s website and our Xbox Twitter and Facebook pages for a sneak peek.”

More information on the keyboard and mouse support feature including the game’s that’ll be supported and the Razer partnership will be revealed on Nov. 10 when an upcoming episode of Inside Xbox goes live.