Xbox One is getting mouse and keyboard support next month

It's been promised for years, but Microsoft will finally start rolling out mouse and keyboard support for its Xbox One devices next month. Razer will be responsible for officially licensed Xbox mice and keyboards, even though "most wired or wireless USB keyboards and mice" will be supported.

Xbox Director of Program Management Jason Ronald made the announcement earlier today, and it's hard not to detect a defensive tone in his post. "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," Ronald wrote (emphasis his).

"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. Each development team knows their titles best and we support them in creating the right experience for their games as they see fit, to ensure an optimal and fair gaming experience."

It's widely believed that mouse and keyboard control, particularly in FPS games, is more accurate than console controllers. Whether developers of these games decide to let their audiences partake in the same matches irrespective of input device, will be interesting to see. Of course, it's possible to play Fortnite on PC against mobile users, so the world is changing.

While games like Microsoft's own Halo Wars 2 would most benefit from the functionality, Ronald singled out Warframe as "one of the first titles" to be tested when it becomes available to 'Xbox Insiders' in October. More info on the testing period and what games will be supported will be discussed on November 10's Inside Xbox broadcast.

If you're looking for recommendations, here are our best gaming keyboard picks for PC.

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.