Sony reveals new PS5 controller aimed at accessibility: Project Leonardo

On Wednesday, Sony unveiled a new controller for the PlayStation 5. It is called Project Leonardo and aims to improve accessibility. It can either be used with an existing DualSense controller, or it can be used by itself. The product is still in development and has no release date nor price.

Project Leonardo was built, SIE senior vice president Hideaki Nishino said on the PlayStation Blog, “to address common challenges faced by many players with limited motor control, including difficulty holding a controller for long periods, accurately pressing small clusters of buttons or triggers, or positioning thumbs and fingers optimally on a standard controller.” The controller includes “a robust kit of swappable components, including a variety of analog stick caps and buttons in different shapes and sizes,” Nishino said.

Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment

New controllers include extensible buttons mapping, multiple control profiles and multi-control profile support. It’s also expandable, via four 3.5 mm auxiliary ports that support “a variety of external switches and third-party accessibility accessories. This enables users to integrate specialty switches, buttons or analog sticks with the Project Leonardo controller.”

Sony states that the design of its new controller was developed in consultation with Accessibility Experts like SpecialEffect or AbleGamers. The video introduces the project and features developers from PlayStation Studios.

Sony’s ongoing efforts to improve accessibility for PlayStation games and other platforms is Project Leonardo. Insomniac Games has been adding accessibility features to their games for years. Santa Monica Studio and Guerrilla Games are just a few of the developers that have made these improvements over the last decade. Last year’s God of War RagnarökMore than 70 accessibility options were included to allow players to tailor their experience according to their preferences.

Sony’s new controller also helps the PlayStation maker catch up to efforts that Microsoft brought to Xbox and Windows PC in 2018, with the release of the Adaptive Controller. The hardware is available at a discounted price of $99.99 and can be used with many add-ons or peripherals.