Battlefield 2042 won't have keyboard and mouse support on consoles, at least at launch

Battlefield 2042 won't support keyboard and mouse setups on console when the shooter arrives this fall.

Developer DICE outlined its thoughts on console KBM in a recent blog post covering a "commitment to positive play" and its revised and expansive community charter. Console KBM is listed under the studio's focus on "fair play", and it seems that potential effects on console and cross-play lobbies have stalled the feature for now.

"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," DICE says. "If that ever changes, you’ll hear it from us first." 

Battlefield 2042 cross-play is already limited by console generations, with the PS4 and Xbox One playing in their own pool, and enabling keyboard and mouse play on consoles could further complicate things. For PS5 and Xbox Series, which share a pool with PC (one that console players can notably opt out of), it may necessitate input-based matchmaking as an additional factor, and depending on how input devices would be treated, it could risk fragmenting the previous-gen pool for the same reason. It's also possible that DICE is simply concerned about other balance issues like aim assist, camera speed, and similar areas where an analogue stick is inherently disadvantaged when compared to a mouse. 

Speaking of fair play, Battlefield 2042 will use the same anti-cheat as Fortnite and Apex Legends to maintain its "no tolerance" policy on cheating.