Microsoft Creates New Program to Make Games More Accessible for People with Disabilities

GAMEFINITY.ID, Jakarta – Microsoft is expanding its accessibility efforts with a new program to evaluate Xbox and PC games. The game accessibility team announced that developers can submit their games for accessibility evaluation and testing by players with disabilities.

“Developers now have the option to submit their Xbox or PC titles to Microsoft and analyze and validate against the recommendations made at XAG,” Microsoft said in a statement.

This program was announced alongside an update to the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines released in early 2021. The Xbox Accessibility Guide includes a thorough explanation of inclusive design considerations for developers, and is now updated to include clearer language, additional context, and implementation examples.

The game test report will include feedback from players with disabilities, as well as links to information on inclusive design, relevant nonprofits, and accessibility experts.

Any issues found during testing will be “recorded with reproduction steps, screenshots, and other information to help developers understand what aspects of certain experiences may be challenging for gamers with certain disabilities,” according to Microsoft.

For your information, more and more companies have focused on game accessibility in recent years. As Microsoft did with the Xbox Adaptive Controller, then also Naughty Dog with the game The Last of Us Part II. Programs like this have the potential to produce more games with a variety of accessibility options.