The Razer Turret is one of the better solutions for playing keyboard-and-mouse games on your couch. Now, Razer is updating this product to work with Microsoft’s consoles. The Turret for Xbox One launches March 31, but you can preorder it now for $250.
The Turret is a full-sized tenkeyless wireless keyboard that connects directly to the Xbox One or Xbox One X. It also comes with a mouse and retractable surface that you can pull out of the side of the keyboard’s chassis. This enables you to rest it on your lap to play games without a desk.
You can, of course, use other keyboards and mice by connecting them through the USB ports on your Xbox system. But if you want to go wirelessly, you’ll have to get something from one of Microsoft’s officially licensed partners. Right now, that just includes Razer.
The Razer Turret for Xbox One also works with PC. You can connect it wirelessly or via USB to a Windows machine and use it as your everyday input devices. I used the first-generation Razer Turret for a long time and really loved it. I mostly used it as my keyboard when I would play games with my laptop propped up behind it.
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Built for couch and desktop gaming, we’ve teamed up with @Microsoft to bring you the all-new Razer Turret for @Xbox One—the world’s first wireless keyboard and mouse designed specifically for the Xbox One.
Pre-order exclusively from Microsoft Store now: https://t.co/kJBdHhcbKC pic.twitter.com/klaLIFDNrz
— R Λ Z Ξ R (@Razer) December 19, 2018
This new Razer Turret, however, looks much more like a modern gaming keyboard than the original model. The first Turret used chiclet-style keys with a soft membrane switch. Razer has not confirmed whether it is using mechanical switches for the updated Turret, but I would expect it to use something better for gaming than membrane — especially at that price.
How is keyboard-and-mouse on console going to work?
Microsoft released keyboard-and-mouse support in beta on Xbox One in November. The company had talked about it for a long time, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer began pushing it heavily beginning in the fall.
At that time, Spencer tried to reassure fans that if they want to continue using a controller, they can. And if you don’t want to play against keyboard-and-mouse people, Microsoft is going to ensure that games have the power to avoid that.
“In terms of matchmaking, that’s all in the hands in the developers,” said Spencer. “If you’re worried that a bunch of mouse-and-keyboard players are going to flood into your game — that’s not what we’re doing. We’re putting choice into the hands of developers.”
So don’t buy the $250 Razer Turret to get an advantage over controller noobs in Halo. Instead, consider it because maybe you’ll get to play Halo with a keyboard-and-mouse, and that sounds awesome.
