Epic Games start clamping down on XIM mouse and keyboard users on Fortnite

Fortnite players using the XIM device in order to trick their console into using a mouse and keyboard have started to get kicked off the game.

Using a mouse and keyboard on console is not a new phenomenon, and in fact, if you’re on PlayStation you’re able to use one to play Fortnite, with the game recognizing the input device and placing you with PC players.

However, on both PlayStation and Xbox, sneaky players have been using a XIM device, which allows the use of any mouse and keyboard, tricking the console into thinking it’s a controller.

The developers at Epic Games announced plans to prevent this, and one Xbox user has reported that it has resulted in him being banned from the game.

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During a regular solo, Reddit user AlternatePlan98 was kicked from the game due to an incorrect input device. However it didn’t stop there, because when he plugged in a controller, the issue persisted.

The XIM4 mouse and keyboard device used by console players

“Today I got kicked out of two matches back to back where a message popped up telling me I’m using ‘a different input method’. Funny thing is after restarting the game it again tells me that I’m using a controller which is obviously false. Since there is no way to tell Fortnite that I’m using M+C I’m not able to play Fortnite anymore because I get kicked as soon as I start to use my weapon or move fast.”

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As expected he didn’t receive much sympathy from other Reddit users in response with replies such as ‘get fucked’ and ‘good you cheating piece of trash’.

Console players will now be hoping that other developers follow in the footsteps of Epic Games, with titles such as Call of Duty plagued with accusations of keyboarders.