This comes as a fair warning as Overwatch developer Blizzard has asked players on the PS4 and Xbox One console to not use different peripherals than the native controllers.
The Microsoft and Sony consoles were not designed for keyboard and mouse. Despite the fact that first person shooters like Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare is so popular on consoles, people play them using a controller. The same goes for the competitive multiplayer title Overwatch. It keeps the game balanced and doesn’t give an unfair advantage when one is playing on a more accurate mouse while another on an analog stick.
Game director Jeff Kaplan has took to the Battle.net forum and released a statement on behalf of Blizzard Entertainment. “The Overwatch team objects to players using mouse and keyboard input devices on any console. We are already in talks with the console manufacturers and clarified them that we want any type of conversion devices that would allow a keyboard, mouse should not be allowed.”
The console developers have very little to say on this issue because the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One console doesn’t natively support a keyboard or mouse. Any player who likes to play Overwatch with this setup has to go the extra mile to buy multiple convertors and meddle with the software to make it work. It’s no easy task but it doesn’t stop them from doing so. The controller versus keyboard/mouse combo is an ongoing debate in the Overwatch community.
Also Read : Overwatch Aim Assist Feature Is Highly Flawed, Blizzard Promises To Fix It
A particular character, Torbjorn was nerfed in the game because it was easy to use him without having to have high precision aim. He also had turrets that made it easy to score kills. Making the character weak created such an uproar among console players but it was done to keep the game balanced on the PS4 and Xbox One. Blizzard didn’t want people to spam just one character just because he was too easy to use with a controller.
Overwatch is an addictive multiplayer shooter that has gained much traction on all platforms. While PC gamers would argue that it is best played with a mouse and keyboard, console gamers have to do what is best on their platforms. The developers are doing their part to keep the game balanced and to stop players from spamming just few select heroes. While Kaplan made a comment, the developers are not going to impose any ban on players using different inputs as it would further complicate the situation.
Grant Hamersma knows the world of tech inside and out, covering smartphones, gadgets and applications. One of our in-house writers and top contributors on the site, you can read all 3,700+ of his posts here.