@Hynieth
I'm sorry but your post, while holding some merit, is wide of the mark.
Firstly, it's not just turning speed. It's macros, input delay and button mapping to name a few. Plus, bunny hopping is huge because you are accurate when you land/shoot.
We might have a wider, more diverse playerbase, but one section (that also pays to play online) starts at a disadvantage.
Would it be acceptable to have auto-aim on Xbox, but not on PC? Very doubtful.
Secondly, no, for some, it is 100% a competitive game. Otherwise there wouldn't be people talking about becoming a Pirate Legend, AFKing, wanting PVP factions and getting frustrated when they get sunk after 2 hours of play.
It's not COD but with COD you get redemption in less than 5 mins. If SOT, you don't and in many cases, cannot even after 10 hours.
Also, football games never had leaderboards and most people don't even know they now do. But those games are easily as competitive as any FPS, and judging by micro-transactions for player packs, perhaps more so.
Remember, Sony now has trophies, because they realised MS developed a competitive atmosphere with them. SOT has definitely made good use of achievements.
MS knows about XIM, and so some developers have talked about blocking non-controller Xbox players. MS also lets developers choose how crossplay works, because they don't want to be the ones that gamers blame.
It's no surprise that this non-steam game is forced crossplay. This seems a business, not a player decision.
For now, MS continue to resist the KB+M for Xbox, a decade long discussion. There's a reason for that and a reason it's a terrible defence point to say it's coming. Especially when XIM and spending £100 on a controller still isn't as good as a £2 KB+M on the PC.
Do you think MS will allow any KB+M to connect to their Xbox? No chance.
Interesting that you mention IT professionals. It's much harder for us to play that role on the Xbox. We have fewer settings and closed hardware. We also spawn more slowly from the Ferry.
Oh, not mentioned, the number of hackers on our platform is tiny.
Finally, the Discord/mobile phone argument is rank at best. Though I'm pretty sure you knew how spurious that point was.
@Sshteeve
Did they re-open the crossplay thread then?
If not, I think @R3D-SKULL-39 is right to bring up this issue when Rare choose to ignore it. New players should know how the game plays out and more experienced ones are the right ones to highlight it.
Crossplay is brilliant and we do want it. But to say, 'crossplay' always and to hell with our loyal customers isn't just crazy, it's delusional business practice.