Xbox Celebrates the Disability Communities with New Accessibility Updates

Xbox Ambassadors is an organization of players who promote the individuality of each other, encourage safe gaming environments, and make gaming more fun for all. Knowing what gaming options is a big part of this. We are pleased to announce the free, new Xbox Ambassador Accessibility Explorer Path, This engaging and new path is designed to help Xbox Ambassadors learn about accessibility. It includes experimenting with accessibility features in games and platforms, meeting industry leaders and playing for players with disabilities and learning accessibility best practice. Each season will bring new missions to Explorers, giving them the opportunity to increase their level of knowledge.  Find out more and become an Xbox Ambassador today!

On Support.Xbox.com, you can find Xbox Accessibility Features Support for PC and Xbox.

Xbox’s new support hub allows gamers to quickly learn all about the accessibility features available on Windows and consoles. Players will spend less time trying to figure out how they work and more time having fun. The accessibility articles now have a simplified navigation system. They are organized by feature categories so that players can easily find what they need and discover new features. Players also have the ability to compare the features of PC and console. The October update will include new and improved articles such as Narrator shortcuts (keyboard/controller), Xbox notifications, copilot for PC and Copilot. The updated Support.Xbox.com Accessibility website is now available in English. Additional languages will be added soon.

Play

Gamers can experience other worlds and gain new perspectives. They also have the ability to create memories through gaming. Games must be accessible in order to make this happen. We share some games that have recently been launched or are featured in the 2022 Xbox Accessibility Showcase.

Blossom stories

In 2023: Coming to PC and Console! Clara will be sharing a collection of stories from her grandfather, who is a nurturing grandfather. You will discover storybook illustrations. Meet cute creatures and solve their problems. Accessibility was an integral part of the project from its inception. Blossom stories’s development. View the accessibility features in the game here and check out today’s Showcase to learn how the developers worked with Xbox to incorporate accessibility into the game.

Pentiment

Coming to Xbox Game Pass & PC Game Pass, Console, PC, and Steam on November 15.Bavaria 16th Century. Pentiment Players will be taken on an emotional journey with Journeyman Artist Andreas Meller during times of social unrest. The game’s director Josh Sawyer is leading the creative team, who are inspired by historical documents, woodcut prints and illuminated manuscripts.

The calligraphic style of late medieval manuscripts can make them difficult to read. Obsidian Entertainment partnered with Xbox in order to offer a wide range of custom font settings. They include font scaling and high contrast modes, text-to–speech, text-to–speech, Easy Read font option and fonts that can be disabled.

Dusk Falls

Xbox Game Pass, console, PC and cloud versions are now available. Dusk FallsInterior/Night has created an interactive drama that examines the lives and relationships of two families, over 30 years. Interior/Night believes that as many people can play, enjoy this interactive drama. Dusk Falls. The game’s accessibility features can be found under the Settings menu on the game’s main screen or the game’s pause menu. There are a number of settings that allow text to be spoken, including on-screen user interface, gameplay adaptations and companion apps. Click here for more details.

Grounded

Available now with Xbox Game Pass & PC Game Pass, Console, PC, Cloud, and Steam. GroundedPlayers find themselves in suburban yards after their size suddenly decreased to that of an ant. Players are guided by robot BURG.L and must discover, construct, and survive in order to avoid the perils and dangers that can come along with being suddenly insect-sized. You can play single or with your friends, such as Max, Pete or Willow. Be sure to keep an eye out for the pesky spiders. 

Obsidian Entertainment collaborated closely with Xbox Research to discover what causes arachnophobia. Xbox Research’s findings helped to determine which form spiders should be taken in the game. They also determined how to alter their appearance according to severity.

This resulted in the game’s Arachnophobia Mode, where players can use a slider to scale the alternate forms of spiders and limit their audio effects, helping to make the game more accessible for everyone. Continue reading Grounded’s accessibility features by clicking here.

Collaborate

Creating an accessible gaming experience doesn’t start or end with a single company. This requires a collaborative effort from many people and organizations who are passionate about gaming being accessible. Here are a few organizations Xbox would like to recognize in honor of this year’s Accessibility Showcase:

SpecialEffect: As seen in today’s showcase, SpecialEffect puts fun and inclusion back into the lives of physically disabled people by helping them to play video games. Through the use of innovative technology, they are changing the lives of people with disabilities around the globe. They are driven to increase enjoyment and quality of living by helping others to play video games at their best. Microsoft Rewards members from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada can donate and earn points for SpecialEffect all through October.

RNIB: The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB), is the UK’s leading sight loss charity. Their services provide practical and emotional support for blind and partially-sighted individuals, as well their families and colleagues. Xbox is pleased to work with RNIB on the support of people blind or partially-sighted in the gaming industry. For the common good of everyone, we look forward to exploring various opportunities and initiatives, in order to welcome more perspectives into our gaming communities.

Accessible Events

Gaming is an extremely popular form of entertainment and culture. It is vital that we host games and other content accessible to everyone, as there are more than three billion gamers.

gamescom 2022

We all win when we play together. Team Xbox was determined to ensure that everyone could enjoy the gamescom experience at 2022. To create an accessible experience, the team focused on several elements. These included live broadcasting with English Audio Descriptions and ASL, BSL (German), interpretation for both broadcast and in booth experience. Xbox Adaptive Controller availability at every game station and sensory processing gear to those who request. Brannon Zahand (Senior Accessibility Program Manager, Xbox) explains how the event was accessible and the additional elements considered.

Tokyo Game Show

Xbox’s Programming & Events Team is on a continuous mission to make its content and videos more accessible, including localized accessibility. The Tokyo Game Show 2022 featured Japanese Sign Language (JSL), Japanese Audio Descriptions, and English-language Audio Descriptions. This was to ensure that the program was accurate to Asia-Pacific countries.  

Check out the Xbox Accessibility Showcase via Twitch, XboxASL, and YouTube (available with AD and ASL)