Microsoft is currently working to add support for mouse and keyboard peripherals to Xbox Cloud Gaming in the near future.
Speaking in a developer stream (via Windows Central) last week, Microsoft Flight Simulator head Jorg Neumann confirmed that “platform-level support” for mouse and keyboard will be coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming somewhere down the road. That as well as support for touch controls on Xbox and PC platforms but which remains in consideration for the time being.
“The next step for us is mouse [and] keyboard,” said Neumann. “This is a platform-level support, so it has nothing to do with us. Obviously, mouse and keyboard works for our sim.
“So, the platform team is working on this. I know I can’t give a date because it’s the platform team. I don’t know their dates, but it’s coming, and we are also talking about making touch [controls] work”
Xbox Cloud Gaming currently only supports controllers and touchscreen controls on mobile devices. Microsoft Flight Simulator on the other hand does support mouse and keyboard on Xbox consoles and PC. However, when streaming the game through the cloud service, players are required to use only controllers instead of the aforementioned desktop peripherals.
Being able to use a mouse and keyboard will greatly improve player experience, particularly in games which are designed around PC peripherals. The added support will allow Microsoft to add a whole new genre to its cloud service, particularly with games like the new Age of Empires 4.
Xbox Cloud Gaming was released in beta back in November 2019 before launching for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers in September 2020. The service is free and only requires an active subscription which costs $1 for the first month and then $15 on a monthly basis.
Xbox Cloud Gaming features under 300 supported games, which covers existing games on Xbox as well as upcoming new releases on Xbox Series X. Besides Microsoft Flight Simulator, subscribers have access to popular library additions such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Forza Horizon 4, The Outer Worlds, Destiny 2, Yakuza Kiwami 2, among others.
