Microsoft to bring mouse, keyboard support on Xbox Cloud Gaming

The move will provide a new choice of peripheral to experience Xbox titles via cloud streaming, accompanying the existing touch controls, prominent among mobile users, reports Windows Central.

San Francisco: Tech giant Microsoft is working to bring mouse and keyboard integration to Xbox Cloud Gaming, with platform-level support currently in development for the service.

The move will provide a new choice of peripheral to experience Xbox titles via cloud streaming, accompanying the existing touch controls, prominent among mobile users, reports Windows Central.

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It would also improve accessibility on platforms like Windows and macOS, where mice and keyboards are commonplace accessories.

Xbox Cloud Gaming, formerly known as Xbox Project xCloud, has continued to expand since its 2019 trials, since launching with an Android-native app, plus a web-based app available for iOS and desktop PCs, the report said.

Microsoft also introduced Xbox console support in late 2021, later allowing Xbox Series X|S exclusives like Microsoft Flight Simulator to make the jump to aging Xbox One consoles.

Microsoft now looks to add mouse and keyboard support to some titles, according to recent comments from Microsoft Flight Simulator head, Jorg Neumann.

Mouse and keyboard support would provide a new option for cloud gaming, accompanying existing alternatives geared to phones.

Microsoft has a growing list of touch-enabled titles, retrofitting custom on-screen touch inputs upon Xbox streaming, mimicking native mobile gaming.

The company has also experimented with gyroscope inputs, allowing users to control some games by moving their phones.

While Neumann didn’t commit to a timeline, it is Microsoft’s first acknowledgment of plans to support mouse and keyboard via the service.

Mouse and keyboard support would improve ease of access via the web, alleviating the requirement for a controller or any surplus hardware on a PC.