How long before the Xbox is just a specialized type of home computer? Or is it one already?
Xbox head Phil Spencer let a juicy nugget slip in a recent Twitter conversation, confirming that support for mouse and keyboard controls "aren't far away" on Xbox One. In the same thread, Spencer also notes that he likes "the idea" of streaming Windows games to Xbox One, but they "don't have a plan yet."
See for yourself:
@Tak225Th Still finishing Xbox to Win10 streaming right now. I like the idea of Win10->Xbox One streaming but don't have a plan yet.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
@lgriao @PNF4LYFE @Tak225Th Yep, keyboard and mouse support for Xbox would need to be there for this to work, those aren't far away.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
This talk comes less than a week before Windows 10 launches on July 29. Microsoft's latest operating system update features a bunch of gamer-friendly features, including the ability to stream Xbox One content to Windows 10 machines.
Keyboard support isn't new for Microsoft's consoles. The Xbox 360 featured limited support for USB-connected keyboards, giving users the option of typing out text in games and apps that require it instead of using the gamepad to pick letters off of a virtual keyboard.
Adding mouse support opens up a wide range of usage options for the Xbox One, especially if Microsoft allows Windows-to-Xbox streaming as well. Once you've got access to a keyboard and mouse on your console, a variety of applications -- not just games -- are suddenly on the table.
We've reached out to Microsoft for more details, though with Win 10-to-Xbox streaming still being finalized, it's a safe bet that mouse support specifics won't be revealed until after the OS launches.