Less than two months away from the highly-anticipated release of Battlefield 2042, the seventeenth entry to the long-running first-person shooter series, console players might find this news a little disappointing. According to developer DICE, the game won’t support keyboard or mouse setups on console–at least when the title releases this fall. In the new Community Charter listing the rules and regulations of the game in terms of player behavior, KBM is listed under the ‘fair play’ section, with the devs coming forward to explain in more detail.
“We can confirm that we won’t be supporting this on consoles at the launch of Battlefield 2042, but we are still investigating the various options about making that available, and how it may impact cross-play. If that ever changes, you’ll hear it from us first.”
For those looking forward to cross-play, remember that console generations will make a difference. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players will be pooled together, and it’s possible that enabling mouse and keyboard play could complicate matters a bit. For those playing the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, you’ll be paired with PC players, but only if you want–yes, you can opt-out out of that. Input-based matchmaking might be an added factor to grouping players together, and throwing different input devices into the mix could throw off the balance DICE is looking to hit. Or, just as likely, the dev team might be worried about aim assist, camera speed, and other areas where playing with an analog stick is not as effective as using a mouse.
Battlefield 2042 is scheduled to release on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on November 19, 2021. Remember not to cheat, because the recently-unveiled Battlefield Community Charter lays out the penalties for in-game crimes. If you cheat, you’ll be banned before you know what hit you.