Valorant Players Are Already Getting Banned For Using Mouse And Keyboard On Console

Players are already getting banned from the Valorant closed console beta for using mouse and keyboard. The Valorant console beta currently only supports controllers, so anyone detected to be using a mouse and keyboard via an adapter is getting automatically banned, thanks to Riot Games anti-cheat software.

A video shared on X (formerly Twitter) by a user named Anti-Cheat Police Department showed a console Valorant match abruptly end, with a red screen appearing stating that a cheater had been detected. This resulted in the match being canceled and the cheater being banned. In a Reddit comment, Valorant tech lead Marcus Reid confirmed that Valorant's anti-cheat would detect anyone using a XIM device or a similar device and ban them.

XIM is an adapter that allows you to plug in a mouse and keyboard to your console and have it recognized as a controller. Not only does this allow players to use a mouse and keyboard in controller-only matchmaking, but it gives an additional advantage since any aim assist in the game will also work on mouse and keyboard, since the game thinks it's a controller. Naturally this leads to many players using the device in controller-only lobbies on console to give themselves an advantage, with cheaters running rampant in many competitive shooters on console.

The head of anti-cheat at Riot Games Phillip Koskinas shared the video on X writing, "a satisfied first customer." While the Valorant console beta has only been live for under a week, it seems as though its anti-cheat is already working as intended. The Valorant console beta is ongoing, but you can still sign up for a chance to play on Valorant's official website.