We’re back with another edition of the PlayAbility newsletter. This time around we have a couple fantastic games accessibility events the recap, a sprinkle of AAA design excellence, a dollop of accessibility legislation and a cherry on top in the form of some sick adaptive technology. So let’s dive in!

Earlier this year, three of our Europe-based consultants – Amy, Laura and Anni – attended Gaconf in London. This conference focused solely on videogame accessibility takes place twice a year, once in Europe and once in the US. No matter which side of the Atlantic, this remains one of our favorite events in the calendar!

And Gaconf 2025 was no exception to the rule! We found it particular interesting that this year did not only focus on video games for PC and consoles but also featured several talks on making mobile games more accessible. It is no secret that the mobile game industry has a fair share of the gaming market tightly in their grip – some studies suggest that roughly half of all gamers mostly play on mobile phones. 

 

In Germany, a study also found that about a third of mobile games are older than 50 years, making the need for mobile games to be both accessible and approachable even more imminent. Luckily, this short talk from King’s Eduardo Broseta highlights some straightforward and useful implementations to make mobile games like Candy Crush more accessible. However, there are also some challenges that affect developing for mobile platforms. Ubisoft’s Alexis Denancé shares how the developer tackled these to make Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown accessible on mobile devices, too. 

And if you have never been to Gaconf but are curious: Registration for the next US edition – happening on 29th and 30th of September in Redmond, Washington – is open!

Back in June the Access-Ability Summer Showcase highlighted some up and coming games that strive to include players of all abilities. Some of our favourites included Chromagun 2 and its colourblind friendly design. Soulblaze with text to speech support and Trash Goblin with its flexibility in control providing click, hold and hover options. Check out the full showcase here and find your next accessible game to get hype for!

This year's installment of the once FIFA now, EA Sports FC AAA juggernaut provided some tantalizing accessibility in the form of a robust customizable high contrast mode. FC 26 scheduled to release in September sports (pun intended) the ability to desaturate the pitch, customize the colour of home and away team kits (or full players) as well as the referee and ball. These accessibility features are available for all game modes including competitive multiplayer, which is fantastic news for those of us regularly humbled by trash-talking teens spamming stepovers.

Two pieces of legislation recently came into effect: The European Accessibility Act (EAA) and the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). The European Accessibility Act will apply to web or mobile games sold in the EU that include chat functions or microtransactions requiring they be accessible. However, micro-enterprises, defined as companies with less than 10 staff, and below a certain financial threshold are exempt.

 

The other legislation covering games sold to EU players is the General Product Safety Regulation. It addresses the safety of players including photosensitive epilepsy seizures caused by games. It will now be required to have a safety representative listed for players as well as safety risk assessments documented in games terms and conditions.

The IGDA - Game Accessibility SIG has a comprehensive article breaking down both the EAA & GPSR that can be found here.

Finally we wanted to highlight a very sweet assistive technology, the Proteus Controller Kit by BYOWAVE. This is a modular controller for Xbox, PC, and Steam Deck. This neat little piece of tech allows you to snap together pieces to best fit your mobility. It also features remappable inputs through a web-based software. We’re excited to see what configurations players come up with to play their favourite (accessible!) games!

 

Because gaming is for everyone!