Xbox Boss Responds To Overwatch Director's Mouse & Keyboard Comments

Recently, Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan spoke out about mouse-and-keyboard controls on console, saying Blizzard is in discussions with Microsoft and Sony to decide how to move forward.

Now, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has weighed in. Writing on Twitter, Spencer said mouse-and-keyboard controls on console can "clearly" provide an advantage in some cases. But overall, he said he wants to put the tools in the hands of the studios and let them decide what works best.

Kaplan, Overwatch's game director, recently stated, "The Overwatch team objects to the use of mouse-and-keyboard on console." He added that Blizzard has reached out to Sony and Microsoft to express its "concern" about this, as well as input conversion devices. Kaplan said Blizzard wants Sony and Microsoft to either prohibit the use of mouse-and-keyboard controls and conversion devices or officially add support for those control setups for everyone.

Although the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One do not officially support mouse-and-keyboard controls, people have found ways, including converters, to make that setup work. Regarding a full, officially supported mouse-and-keyboard setup for Xbox One, Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently said he hopes this will happen in part to help RTS games grow in prominence on console.

In other Overwatch news, Blizzard recently announced that the game has crossed 25 million registered users. We may learn more about how the game is performing from a business perspective this week when Activision Blizzard reports earnings on February 9.

What's your take on mouse-and-keyboard controls on console? Let us know in the comments below!