Keyboard and mouse support is coming – latency improvements are planned

Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming will soon support mouse and keyboard input. In addition, there should be a significant improvement in latency.

Microsoft announced the move to its cloud gaming service months ago, after Xbox consoles supported the option for a while. Now developers and users should be prepared that this feature will be available soon.

Mouse and keyboard support announced

In a new developer video, Microsoft is currently only talking about support for PC systems, but there is a possibility that the feature could be made available for other end devices as well. After all, the Xbox cloud gaming service includes not only computers, but also smartphones or modern smart TVs.

“The Xbox has had keyboard and mouse support for many years and we’re working to bring this to streaming PC users,” said Morgan Brown, software engineer for Microsoft’s Xbox Streaming Team. “But you can add it to the game right now and your console users with keyboard and mouse will appreciate it. As soon as we add it, it will lighten up in streaming,” it continues, referring to the developers.

The innovation should be particularly enjoyable for fans of shooter and strategy games, who previously could aim and navigate their units on the battlefield with only one controller. As of now, there are only a limited number of Xbox games that benefit from this feature, but that may change as the Xbox cloud gaming service expands its offering.

New ways to improve latency

In addition, Microsoft wants to provide its developers with new options to reduce latency in their streamed content. That is said to save up to 72 milliseconds, so that would make a significant difference.

However, we’ll have to live with a few limitations: The new Direct Capture technology supports a maximum resolution of 1440p, while we have to do without Dynamic Resolution, or HDR, entirely. You can find an overview of all the improvements from the sixth minute in the video above. That Microsoft Xbox is also working on an in-house device for cloud gamingWe’ve also known for a few weeks.