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

A PC by any other name: Mouse compatibility is inbound for the Xbox One

Will Fulton
By

XBox One
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The advent of streaming games from your Xbox One to Windows 10 PCs has prompted some people to ask whether streaming in the opposite direction might one day be possible. While responding to queries on Twitter, Xbox czar Phil Spencer said that while Windows-to-Xbox streaming is certainly intriguing to him, it’s not in the cards for the foreseeable future while they still work out the particulars of Xbox-to-Windows. However the conversation also brought up the possibility of keyboard and mouse compatibility with the Xbox One, which would be a prerequisite for streaming from Windows. Spencer said intriguingly that those “aren’t far away.” Keyboards already work with Microsoft’s console, so only the mouse would need to be added. (via Engadget)

@Tak225Th Still finishing Xbox to Win10 streaming right now. I like the idea of Win10->Xbox One streaming but don't have a plan yet.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015

@lgriao @PNF4LYFE @Tak225Th Yep, keyboard and mouse support for Xbox would need to be there for this to work, those aren't far away.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015

@lgriao @PNF4LYFE @Tak225Th Mouse is what we'd need to add.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015

Modern gaming consoles are essentially just highly specialized, compact PCs when you look under the hood at their system architecture. With its feet firmly planted in the worlds of both personal computing and gaming consoles, Microsoft is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between these two technological ecosystems in a way that its chief competitor in gaming, Sony, would not be able to do. CEO Satya Nadella said basically as much last year in an earnings call when he announced his intention to merge Microsoft’s computing, gaming, and mobile phone platforms with a more unified underlying framework. He described a future of “Universal Windows Apps,” where developers would be able to create a single app that would work on all platforms and be available in a unified Microsoft app store.

Recommended Videos

The upcoming launch of Windows 10, which was announced with the tagline “One product family, one platform, one store”, is a major step in this direction. Xbox-to-PC streaming is the first piece of this cross-pollination, and adding mouse support to the Xbox One would be a key move in allowing content to flow the other way.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Will Fulton
Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
Your Xbox is becoming carbon aware with new update
Official Xbox art promoting energy saving, carbon awareness, and collective action.

While many fans are waiting for Xbox to reveal the release dates of Redfall and Starfield, or to even hold another game showcase of its own, Microsoft's first significant Xbox-related announcement of the year is about something else entirely. Xbox Insiders will have access to multiple new options to make their Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S more carbon-aware starting today.
To start, the "Shutdown (energy-saving)" power option will be updated to reduce its power consumption even further while still supporting overnight updates; in fact, your Xbox console will now optimize those updates by doing them "when the console can use the most renewable energy in your local energy grid." According to Microsoft, for every two consoles that are in this mode for 20 hours a day for a whole year, the carbon equivalent of a tree that has been growing for over a decade will be saved.

That isn't the only energy-conscious addition in this update, though. A new "Active Hours" setting is coming, which will allow those who choose the "Sleep" power option to boot quickly and support remote waking during set active hours, rather than it always being available. Surprisingly, even Xbox One owners will see a carbon-aware update with the addition of the "Shutdown (energy saving)" power option today, although Microsoft is still in the user feedback stage for that platform.
These carbon-aware updates are available to Xbox Insiders with an Xbox One, Xbox Series X, or Xbox Series S starting today, although Microsoft says these additions will come to all current-gen console owners "soon." 

Read more
Microsoft’s price hike on Xbox games will apply to PC, Steam
Redfall Cover

Microsoft confirmed to Digital Trends that the impending price increase on its first-party games will apply to its PC releases as well. The change will happen in 2023 and affect upcoming titles like Starfield, Redfall, and Forza Motorsport.

This morning, IGN reported that Microsoft will be raising the prices of Xbox Series X|S games from $60 to $70. Digital Trends asked Microsoft if this would also apply to the PC versions of its games. A Microsoft spokesperson said, "Yes, starting in 2023, our new, full-priced games will be $69.99 across console and PC storefronts. This price reflects the content, scale, and complexity of these titles, regardless of platform. These games will also be available on day one with Game Pass.”

Read more
Hello Neighbor 2 offers impressive open-ended puzzling and one creepy villain
Theodore Masters Peterson in Hello Neighbor 2

Hello Neighbor from 2017 was a thematically creepy game. It followed the story of protagonist Nicky Roth, who, through the player’s input, infiltrated the labyrinthine house of an unhinged man with a few too many dark secrets rolled up his sleeves. Without giving too much away, the original’s three main acts were filled with the same sort of horrors one might expect to find if they were to rummage around in their shady next-door neighbor’s basement in the middle of the night -- only to find the aforementioned neighbor creeping around the corner with a hatchet and a menacing glint in their eye.

But the average neighbor doesn't keep macabre secrets behind traps and puzzles in their basement, which means Hello Neighbor 2 could be the next big thing for anyone who ever fantasized about solving mysteries in the dead of night. Don’t try this at home -- er, your neighbor’s home -- but do try Hello Neighbor 2.

Read more