Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan has taken to Blizzard’s Battle.net forums to advocate against converter-driven keyboard and mouse support on Xbox One and PS4.
The conversation began after Overwatch players on consoles asked if keyboard and mouse converters like XIM constituted cheating.
“We have contacted both first-party console manufacturers and expressed our concern about the use of mouse and keyboard and input conversion devices,” Kaplan began.
“We have lobbied and will continue to lobby for first-party console manufacturers to either disallow mouse and keyboard and input conversion devices or openly and easily support mouse and keyboard for all players.
“I encourage you to reach out to the hardware manufacturers and express your concerns (but please do so in a productive and respectful way).”
Ultimately, Kaplan’s concern seems to stem from the idea that those on keyboard and mouse setups have a greater advantage, in-game, than those using a traditional controller. With select users using converters — rather than anyone natively — able to take advantage of keyboard and mouse controls on console, this would increasingly divide Overwatch‘s player base.
Recently, Gears of War 4 has allowed for cross-platform social multiplayer — so, players using controllers and mouse and keyboard setups — but limits ranked matches to platform-specific games. Xbox head Phil Spencer has also recently reaffirmed he’d like to see proper support on Xbox One. The PS4 provides native keyboard and mouse controls for several apps, and does allow for developers to add keyboard and mouse controls into their games if they so choose.
What do you think about keyboard and mouse support for console shooters?
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