Battlefield 2042 console players want mouse and keyboard support
Battlefield 2042 is one of few online shooters that do not support mouse and keyboard controls on consoles.
The arrival of cross-play gave rise to another great, often neglected feature of new consoles: their ability to support mouse and keyboard. Battlefield 2042 supports cross-play between PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S - but only PC players get the choice of input device.
If you're playing on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, you can only use the consoles' default controllers. On PC, however, you can easily plug in a controller and enjoy the best of both worlds. Battlefield 2042 even supports on-the-fly input swapping, which allows players to fly/drive vehicles using a controller and keep mouse and keyboard for infantry combat.
This is in stark contrast to Battlefield 2042's competitors, chiefly Call of Duty - which has been allowing both input methods on every platform for years now. Indeed, this is also the case for Halo Infinite.
Mixed input lobbies are a thing in those games, of course, even if they don't allow you to switch input method mid-match. This has been the source of some argument amongst their communities, but matchmaking is generally decent enough to normalise the effect.
Battlefield 2042 does not separate lobbies based on input, and it's not clear whether its matchmaking is as advanced as Call of Duty’s and Halo’s. Nevertheless, the ability to use mouse and keyboard on consoles is one many thousands of players are asking DICE to implement.
A new petition - with over 10,000 signatures currently - has been growing in support for days. The goal of the petition is simple: get mouse and keyboard support into the new console versions of Battlefield 2042.
"There is a large percentage of the gaming community that is unable to upgrade their PC systems to meet the requirements of Battlefield 2042. This is due to the limited availability of PC parts, and whatever parts that do become available are being bought by scalpers and resold at double the MSRP. What was once $300-$600US to upgrade your graphics card is now $1000-$2000USD (ridiculous!)," the petition argues.
DICE actually addressed this concern ahead of the game's launch, saying at the time that while the feature won't be available at release, it is under investigation and may end up in the game at some point.
The petition's tone is respectful and its thesis is very reasonable, which isn't always the case with fan-lead petitions of that nature. If you support the cause, you can hit the link above to sign it.
In case you missed it, Battlefield 2042 is now the series' worst-rated mainline game ever. We also recently published our own Battlefield 2042 review - read it in full at the link.