Xbox Adaptive Controller & Elite Series 2 to Offer Keyboard Remapping

Xbox has in recent years been a champion for making gaming accessible for everyone, and yesterday it revealed a new wave of accessibility updates and features, including one that will allow the Xbox Adaptive Controller and Elite Series 2 to support keyboard remapping to make PC gaming more inclusive.

In a new blog post, Microsoft revealed that both controllers will be capable of remapping the buttons to nearly 90 keyboard keys, as you can see in the image below, allowing players with limited mobility access even more PC games.

While some Xbox console games, such as Halo Infinite, support a mouse and keyboard, this new feature is ideal for PC gaming, particularly games that lack controller support and require a mouse and keyboard. While it is common for newer games released on PC to have dual support for controller and mouse/keyboard, older games or games where controller inputs are worse or finicky to set up will now be more accessible. One example is the Steam version of Dead Rising 2, which supports mouse and keyboard in addition to the controller, but the latter only supports modern controllers with a lot of workaround or mods to get working properly.

Xbox notes that the remapping feature will be available through the Xbox Accessories app on both PC and console. The feature is currently available to members of the Xbox Accessibility Insiders League and Xbox Insiders, with public access available “in the coming months”.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.