Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

‘Overwatch’ director speaks out against mouse and keyboard adapters for consoles

Gamers pull Xbox chief into debate over mouse and keyboard controls for consoles

Garrett Hulfish
By

overwatch mouse keyboard console dva screenshot 004
Image used with permission by copyright holder
When it comes to multiplayer shooters like Overwatch, there’s been a long-running debate over whether it’s best to use analog control sticks or mouse and keyboard controls. No matter which side you stand on, players on the same platform have long used the same control scheme. However, in this day and age, there are numerous third-party adapters that allow players to effectively use a mouse and keyboard on an Xbox One or PlayStation 4. This control scheme can give these players a distinct advantage over other console users.

Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan doesn’t appreciate players taking advantage of this competitive imbalance. “The Overwatch team objects to the use of mouse and keyboard on console,” said Kaplan on the Battle.net forums. “We have contacted both first-party console manufacturers and expressed our concern about the use of mouse and keyboard and input conversion devices.”

Recommended Videos

To remedy the issue, Blizzard has been lobbying for first-party console manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft to make some changes. Either they can disallow the use of mouse and keyboard input conversion devices, or they can add support for mouse and keyboard for all players, eliminating the need for such devices.

Related

“I encourage you to reach out to the hardware manufacturers and express your concerns (but please do so in a productive and respectful way),” continued Kaplan.

Shortly after Kaplan’s statement, users did just that, reaching out to Xbox head Phil Spencer on Twitter. “Clearly, in some cases, M&K [mouse and keyboard] is an advantage. I’m a fan of giving the tools to studios, and they’ll do what’s best for their games,” Spencer responded.

From his response, it seems that perhaps down the line, Blizzard could gain control over whether or not players can use mouse and keyboard controls in Overwatch on consoles.

The products in question use inputs from standard USB mice and keyboards, and emulate standard controllers through a number of hardware and software settings. It’s done in a way that makes them difficult for developers to detect. In competitive online games like Overwatch, the quick precision of a mouse can be a big advantage over players with analog sticks.

Despite these complaints, some game makers have been less concerned with different control inputs. Just last month, Gear of War 4 opened up cross-platform play between PC and console players. During a trial run in December, it was found that players on Xbox One and Windows 10 had similar results when comparing average kill to death ratio, score, and kills per match.

Allowing mouse and keyboard control options for all console players could be an easy way to balance things out, and it sounds like we are on our way there. Last summer, Microsoft said that official support for mouse and keyboard was “months away.”

The PS4 already supports USB and massively multiplayer online games. There is also the officially licensed TAC Pro, which is a mouse and keyboard peripheral made by Hori that is “designed to work seamlessly with the PS4 system and all games.” The TAC Pro can be found on Amazon for $150.

Updated on 2-07-2017 by Steven Petite: Added Phil Spencer’s comments

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Garrett Hulfish
Garrett Hulfish
Contributor
Garrett is the kind of guy who tells you about all the tech you haven't heard of yet. He also knows too much about other…
Every Overwatch 2 character confirmed so far
Two squads of heroes clash in an Overwatch 2 trailer.

It's been a long time coming, but Overwatch 2 is closer than ever to release. That being said, we still have plenty of waiting to do, and plenty of heroes are yet to be revealed. Unlike most sequels, Overwatch 2 is basically a major expansion to the first game rather than a fresh restart. Essentially, all the content from the first game will be included in the game, along with some bigger changes and additions, such as maps and modes. However, the most exciting thing for fans is the new additions to the bright, colorful, and expressive character roster.

Overwatch's cast has been growing steadily ever since it was first released in 2016. Even though each character falls into either the tank, DPS, or support role, Blizzard has managed to make nearly all of them competitive in their own way and certainly unique in terms of design and personality. At launch, the game had 21 heroes, which is already a high number for a game like this, but 11 more have been added. While we don't know much about the new faces yet, here's every character we know of that's coming to Overwatch 2. 

Read more
Overwatch 2: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
Two squads of heroes clash in an Overwatch 2 trailer.

Overwatch 2's rumored 2020 release date has come and gone, and players still don't have the sequel in their hands. Announced at BlizzCon 2019, Blizzard has slowly released details about Overwatch 2, including showing off concept art for new maps and letting players try out the game in beta.

Although we still don't have all the concrete details, Blizzard has revealed a lot about Overwatch 2, with even more details coming from multiple showings in 2022. Until the next event gives us new details to work with, here's everything we know about Overwatch 2.

Read more
Overwatch 2 is going free-to-play. Here’s why
Wrecking ball and his ball mech.

Overwatch 2 is going free-to-play this October. The upcoming competitive shooter from an embattled Activision Blizzard was expected to launch in 2023, but we learned that it was coming a bit earlier than expected and would be free during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12. Still, this is a shocking shift for one of Blizzard's biggest franchises and one that has a lot of implications for the pace of updates and new content. Ahead of a livestream that gives more details about the free-to-play shift, Digital Trends spoke to some members of the development team, including Game Director Aaron Keller and Overwatch VP and Commerical Lead Jon Spector, to learn why exactly the Overwatch 2 team decided to embrace free-to-play.
Overwatch 2: Reveal Event | June 16
The best option
At launch on October 4, Overwatch 2 players can expect three new heroes (including a support character teased in the release date trailer), six new maps, over 30 new skins (including a mythic skin for Genji), the Push game mode, and the game's first battle pass. Barring any issues that cause the team to reschedule, the second season will begin on December 6 and introduce another new tank, a new map, and a battle pass with over 30 new skins. More heroes, maps, modes, and the PvE story campaign will start to roll out throughout 2023.
Blizzard plans to make seasons last nine weeks, with three or four new heroes added yearly. If you play games like Apex Legends or Valorant, this cadence of releases should be familiar to you. Keller and Spector claim that other successful free-to-play games aren't what caused Blizzard to make this shift. Instead, they say factors like lowering the barrier of entry for interested players and not wanting to hold on to finished content played a part in Overwatch 2 going free-to-play.

"We don't want to develop things and try to pool it together into a big box release; we'd rather just put content out when it's ready and do it as quickly as we can," Keller says. "As we kept working on some of the more innovative gameplay for the PvE side of Overwatch 2, it meant that it was going to take longer for any of our PvP features to go public. We want to release stuff as frequently as we can, but it was taking us too long to be able to get it in front of our players."
The original Overwatch has floundered since it stopped getting significant content updates in 2020 so Blizzard could focus on Overwatch 2. By releasing the sequel as a free-to-play game this year, that long wait ends -- and players won't have to worry about it happening again for a long time. The developers also stressed that Overwatch 2 would feel more like a sequel than an update when it launches, thanks to the new content and rework into 5v5 matches. Spector explains that many systems fell in place simultaneously, like cross-play, cross-progression, and the seasonal model, so it made sense to lower the barriers to entry and launch free-to-play this year.
"We are dedicated to putting out content frequently and consistently in perpetuity."

Read more