We're back with another edition of the PlayAbility newsletter highlighting some of the wonderful things happening in the world of games accessibility. We have news hot off the presses for players, developers and good ol' accessibility nerds. So let's dive in!

 

Because gaming is for everyone!

Global Accessibility Awareness Day was May 16 so there was a plethora of fantastic accessibility information across the world wide web. One particular resource of note was the Games Industry Accessibility Toolkit by Safe in Our World. The toolkit provides information on hiring, onboarding, and training; day-to-day job functions; and has a specific focus on social accessibility at work. If you’re looking to ensure your workplace is welcoming to people of all abilities we highly recommend checking it out.

Next up, Godot announced native screen reader support for the engine. This was a herculean effort that took several years and we in the disabled community are so incredibly proud of the work done so players of all kinds can play the games of tomorrow. Hats off to the Godot team for making accessibility a top priority!

The announcement of a new console is an exciting time for players far and wide. However, with new tech there can be new accessibility barriers and challenges. Historically Nintendo has had room to improve on accessibility but for the Switch 2 we are pumped to see accessibility information posted well before launch. So, credit where credit is due to Nintendo for including disabled players in the

Switch 2 hype.

Finally, we have huge news that came out of the Game Developers Conference. The Entertainment Software Association announced the Accessible Games Initiative, a new effort to help provide clear information on what accessibility exists in games. This is achieved by a series of tags that identify what accessibility features are present so players can determine if a game is right for them before they buy it. On Global Accessibility Awareness Day Xbox took the lead announcing they would be the first storefront to feature the Accessible Games Initiative tags. 

Now slightly confusingly, Valve also announced their Accessibility Feature Tags for Steam. These are a little different from the ESA Accessible Games Initiative tags and we hope they can perhaps be standardized going forward. 

 

Regardless, this is amazing to see and we at PlayAbility hope developers of all size embrace these tags to signify Meaningful Access for players.

 

Providing meaningful access means answering questions like ...

If you're looking to ensure your Accessibility Tags reflect meaningful access in your game, our team is always happy to connect. 

 

Until next time, go play some wonderful accessible games!