Can you use a controller on Call of Duty: Mobile?

Best answer: While you could use a controller in the beta test of Call of Duty: Mobile, Activision removed that ability from the full game. A lot of people are unhappy about the loss, and we hope Activision will reverse that decision.

• Peak mobile gaming: Call of Duty: Mobile (Free with IAP at the Play Store)

How are the touch controls?

As far as touch controls go, the controls on Call of Duty: Mobile are pretty good. They are two types of control layout, including a simple auto-fire mode and a more traditional advanced mode. The simple mode has an auto-fire system that starts to fire when enemies reach a certain distance away. It's an OK way of playing, but if you have ever played a Call of Duty game before you may find it too inaccurate and, frankly, boring, to play it that way.

I much prefer the advanced mode that adds both a fire button and an Aim-Down-Sights (ADS) button. It fills the screen up even more than before, but it makes you far more deadly in combat. Of course, the reason we all want controller support is because of this exact problem. There isn't enough room on the screen for all the controls, and for you to see enough of the game to have fun.

Is controller support coming back?

We just don't know. There is a lot of support for it in the community, and people who played the early access are sorely disappointed that they can no longer use the controllers. Hopefully, Tencent — the developers of CoD: Mobile — will listen to the community and bring controllers back. There are even major brands like Turtle Beach, asking the community about it.

The main argument for not having controller support is to keep the playing field level. I'm pretty good at the game using touch controllers, but I would destroy them if I had a controller in my hand. Tencent would need to have the option to play matches that only include controllers or only include touch input if it wanted to keep the game fair. That kind of separation costs money, though, and Tencent isn't known for spending money when it doesn't need to.

The puzzling thing is, Tencent already had the support available. So it had already spent the time and effort to do it, then just threw it all away. Perhaps it was just too unbalanced, and they are going back to the drawing board. Here's hoping Tencent listen to our pleas and bring it back as soon as possible.

Update: Activision says "hang tight" for controller support (10/13/19)

In a recent Reddit community post Activision gave us hope that controller support may come back. They are testing controller support internally so lets up they see that it's worth having.