It's undeniable that PUBG Mobile is the biggest FPS release on Android in years—maybe ever. The full version of the game has attracted a lot of dedicated players, and naturally, there's significant interest in the mobile edition. The controls are bad, but they're the same level of bad for everyone... unless you connect a keyboard and mouse. That raises a question: is using a keyboard and mouse in a competitive mobile shooter the same as cheating?

Like most touchscreen shooters, PUBG has a lot of on-screen buttons. It's also hard to aim and fire accurately. There's only so much you can do with a touchscreen, after all. Is the solution to plug in peripherals, though? I recall several years ago using the Shield Portable to play a Gameloft shooter and I effectively wrecked everyone else. I'm not even great with thumbstick shooters.

There are a few ways to get PUBG Mobile working with physical input devices. You can pair Bluetooth devices with your phone or tablet, install the game on a Chromebook, or use a desktop Android emulator. If you think this sounds like a lot of work, you've never met someone obsessed with PUBG. Motherboard has a bit of anecdotal evidence that playing with a keyboard and mouse could ruin the experience for everyone else.

This is not the first time gaming communities have been split over the subject of controls and whether a keyboard and mouse are inherently more accurate. That's why cross-platform play between PC and consoles is so rarely implemented. PC gamers with their keyboards and mice are on one server, and console gamers with controllers are on the other. Gears of War 4 was a rare exception, but many Xbox gamers complained about unbalanced matches. A similar thing is happening with PUBG on the Xbox, which understands a keyboard and mouse with the right adapter.

PUBG Mobile is highly competitive, so serious players may feel forced to take the keyboard and mouse route. There's probably no effective way to stop that, either. It may not technically be "cheating," but it definitely gives players an unfair advantage—more so than a controller vs. keyboard and mouse. To use a car analogy, this isn't a case of tuning your suspension or swapping tires to win a race. This is like driving a Ferrari when the other guy is stuck with a moped.