Highlights

• Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles are a great choice for players who prefer mouse and keyboard controls over gamepads for certain games like shooters and RTS titles.
• Xbox owners can interact with the OS directly with a mouse, even without plugging in a gamepad, creating a PC-like gaming experience.
• Games like F1 Manager 2023, Solasta: Crown of the Magister, and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition are best played with a mouse and keyboard for faster navigation and better control.

Microsoft’s consoles are the perfect choice for players who don’t want a PC but can't stand using a gamepad in typical mouse and keyboard games like shooters or RTS titles. Though Microsoft does have some official sets of mice and keyboards for the Xbox Series S/X, any old USB keyboard should work just fine. Some users report good results even with Bluetooth devices, though those seem to be less consistent.

Unlike other consoles, Microsoft’s ecosystem allows users to interact with the OS directly with a mouse. Xbox owners don’t even need to plug in a gamepad to start their games. As long as the games themselves support a mouse and keyboard, the experience is like that of a gaming PC.

Updated on January 26, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: The Xbox Series X and Series S are two consoles that are pretty impressive in their own right, with Microsoft's acquisition of several major players in the gaming industry making it clear that they wish to make a serious effort and overtake the PS5's dominance in the console market. Their attempts to make gaming as accessible as possible are certainly quite noble, and the fact that many Xbox games can be played with a keyboard and mouse is news that will please many fans.

15 Age Of Empires 4: Anniversary Edition

The Newest Entry In The RTS Series That Most Fans Would Prefer Playing With A Mouse & Keyboard

It's only a given that most people would prefer to play RTS games using a keyboard and mouse. Age of Empires 4 is no exception here, with many players surprised that this game was released on Xbox consoles a few months after its PC release.

While controller support for this game is pretty impressive, most players would prefer to use a mouse to give commands easily. This support has been added for the game's console releases, which is very much appreciated.

14 Deep Rock Galactic

A Fun Co-op FPS, Where Players Control Space-Mining Dwarves

A beautiful and compelling co-op FPS that a lot of gamers love, Deep Rock Galactic has a great premise made even better by its compelling combat and procedural design. Controlling a group of intergalactic dwarven miners as they explore the deepest recesses of space is a blast.

Deep Rock Galactic promotes teamwork without being too strategic, meaning that players can have a great time shooting enemies as long as they have their teammates' backs. The game is a blast to play through, and those who use a mouse to aim will be able to wipe out foes with incredibly accurate shots.

13 F1 Manager 2023

Easy To Micromanage With A Mouse And Keyboard

Players who love the world of motorsports and want to feel like they are a part of it will love what F1 Manager 2023 has to offer. It lets players control an existing or original team in the sport, hiring drivers and racking up points to become as successful as possible.

A mouse and keyboard lets players navigate menus and select options faster, which is pretty helpful in a game where there are so many things to check out in any given situation. F1 Manager 2023 has a few problems that are hard to ignore, but players who want a more approachable motorsport manager game will appreciate what this title has to offer.

12 Solasta: Crown Of The Magister

Any CRPG Would Be Better With A Control Scheme Fit For A Computer

The CRPG genre has witnessed a major revival in modern times, which makes for a great sight for fans of the many classic role-playing games out there. The mere fact that these games are being ported to consoles is a testament to how popular this genre has become.

Solasta: Crown of the Magister is one such game that is a blast to play through, even if the story is a bit cliched. The tactical combat is fairly approachable, making it easy to access for beginners to the genre. As one would expect, a mouse and keyboard make this game way easier to control for most players.

11 Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition

A Legendary RTS Where A Mouse Makes Everything Easier

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition is a classic real-time strategy game that needs no introduction. Any person even remotely familiar with this title knows why it's best played with a mouse and keyboard.

There are multiple units and complex strategies present in the game that can be hard to pull off on a controller. Meanwhile, the precision of the mouse and the multitude of keys on a keyboard ensure that players can carry out many commands and deploy units without too many problems.

10 Atomic Heart

It's Easier To Be Accurate In Any FPS With Mouse & Keyboard Controls

Atomic Heart is a first-person shooter that features fast-paced action and requires precise aiming and movement. While the controller gets the job done in many ways, it's only a given that an FPS title would benefit from the precise aiming afforded by a mouse.

Exploration and combat become way easier with a mouse and keyboard, helping players out during tough combat challenges where every single bullet increases their chances of dying to the many robotic enemies in the game. It's pretty much a no-brainer, and players who want to focus on the great world-building and unique story of Atomic Heart without getting frustrated too much by its combat would benefit from this alternate control scheme.

9 Metro Exodus

Given How Challenging This FPS Is, More Accurate Controls Are Quite Welcome

Metro Exodus is a post-apocalyptic first-person shooter game that serves as the last title in a hardcore FPS series where death awaits the player at every corner. This game went for an open-world approach that turned out to be a huge success in every way.

As is the case with other titles in the series, Metro Exodus is a challenging game where players will value precision aiming over everything else. This makes it important to use a mouse and keyboard for better aiming and easier access to the many other gameplay aspects of this title.

8 Fortnite

A Mouse & Keyboard Will Give Players An Edge In This Competitive Shooter

Fortnite is a popular battle royale game everyone is quite familiar with. Building structures and shooting down opponents requires players to make several quick decisions at the drop of a hat, which is slightly more challenging with a controller.

So, it's no surprise that this game is better played with a mouse and keyboard, which is supported on the Xbox Series X/S. This gives many players a competitive advantage in gameplay and enables faster building and editing.

7 Cyberpunk 2077

If Players Use Guns A Lot In Combat, The Mouse's Heightened Accuracy Is A Huge Bonus

Cyberpunk 2077 is a role-playing first-person game that features a vast open world and a variety of weapons and abilities. While using a controller with this game is completely viable, the freedom afforded by a mouse and keyboard is simply too good to pass up.

Playing with this alternate control scheme allows players to easily navigate the game's intricate menus, manage their inventory, and quickly switch between weapons and abilities during combat. It turns every action in Cyberpunk 2077 into a complex and dynamic one, with the frustrations of a controller being completely negated as a result.

6 Call Of Duty (All Of Them Since Warzone)

Mouse Aiming Lets Players Flex On Their Opponents In Multiplayer

Everyone knows Call of Duty, the FPS series that introduced console gamers to the genre years ago. Thanks to the cross-platform servers of the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone, many also know how much of a disadvantage playing with a controller can be. Thankfully, most Call of Duty games on Microsoft’s consoles allow users to play seamlessly with a classic PC control scheme.

These are the Call of Duty games that are available on Microsoft’s newest consoles and fully support a mouse and keyboard control scheme: Black Ops Cold War, Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2, Warzone, and Warzone 2.0.

5 Cities: Skylines

A City-Building Simulation That Functions Well With A Mouse, Allowing For Quicker Inputs

Cities: Skylines is one of those games that needs a mouse to be fully enjoyed. This city builder phenomenon boosts a minutiae of control of the city’s infrastructure not at all common in the genre. Roads in Cities: Skylines can be built out of different materials, all with different properties, as one would expect from the genre.

Roads can also be built in different shapes, following different curves, or working with the 3D space thanks to the elevation mechanics. This degree of control is only as precise as the players themselves, meaning that someone stuck with a controller is unlikely to take all that time carefully planning each new road.

4 Hypnospace Outlaw

Navigating A Fictional Internet Browser Is Easier With A Mouse & Keyboard

Hypnospace Outlaw is an internet browser simulator, and just like a real browser, the best way of interacting with it is with a mouse. Players who attempted to play Hypnospace Outlaw with a gamepad might have noticed how unwieldy it is, but there is something else to it, something even worse.

This isn’t just any old, dry simulator game like Sim City or Cities: Skylines. Hypnospace Outlaw emulates the specific feeling of navigating the long-gone Internet 1.0 of the early 2000s and, as such, comes out as a much more personal and authentic experience. Playing it without a mouse isn’t just uncomfortable; doing so feels like it's missing the entire point of the game.

3 Halo Infinite & Halo: Master Chief Collection

Legendary Shooting Games That Allow For Better Aim With A Mouse

• 	Halo Infinite	Halo: The Master Chief Collection
  Platform(s)	Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Xbox One	Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PC, Xbox One
  Released	2021-12-08	2014-11-11
  Developer(s)	343 Industries	343 Industries
  Genre(s)	First-Person Shooter	First-Person Shooter

Microsoft’s FPS series Halo needs no introduction. Both games in the series available on Xbox Series S/X are also available on Windows PC, and Microsoft allows mouse and keyboard controls on consoles, too.

The Halo games on Xbox consoles that have official mouse and keyboard support are the latest entries in the series, Halo: Infinite and the remake of the original trilogy, Halo: Master Chief Collection. The original Halo: Combat Evolved, which is included in the Master Chief Collection, was one of the first shooters by Microsoft designed for consoles, so all the games in the series can be played with either control scheme.

2 Gears Tactics

Any Top-Down RTS Game Feels Better If Players Use A Mouse To Give Directions

Gears Tactics is the curiously story-rich spin-off of the classic console shooter series Gears of War. Unlike its predecessors, however, this is a turn-based tactics game. Just like other tactics and strategy games, Gears Tactics is better played with a mouse.

Even if some players might prefer playing with a mouse, since the game is turn-based and there is no real-time pressure, gamepad players aren't put at a disadvantage. What they might feel, something that’s just as bad as an added difficulty, is how each fight drags on for too long because of how finicky certain inputs can be.

1 Terraria

A Great Survival-Crafting Game, Where Most Players Prefer Using A Mouse & Keyboard

Terraria came out back in 2011, over one decade ago. Back then, it was one of the biggest indie success stories, and since then, the game has been growing without an end in sight. Even Journey’s End, which was supposed to be the game’s last major update, doesn’t seem to have stopped development.

In over ten years of development, Terraria has become a much more complex game than it originally was. As such, playing this game without a mouse to access all the different menus becomes quite a chore. The mouse and keyboard support on Microsoft’s consoles isn’t perfect either, however. The mouse wheel, for example, doesn’t always scroll menus up and down, but Terraria is still a great title to experience with a mouse and keyboard.