Video games can be quite entertaining artful media for consumers to enjoy. However, those with different disabilities may find certain games to be out of their realm of gameplay possibilities. Over the years we’ve seen developers make an effort to allow their video games to be more accessible which is great. However, some titles may have some issues to overcome before its ready to be released to the masses.
Microsoft is one company that made some big adjustments for players having accessible means to play video games. One of those big leaps was the Microsoft Xbox Adaptive Controller, a controller that makes playing games a bit easier with the different buttons, mounts, and joystick placements. It’s proven to be a success and now Microsoft is going one step further to ensure that other developers have video games developed in a way that allows more players with disabilities the ability to play the game.
For starters, Microsoft has already published an Xbox Accessibility Guideline other otherwise known as the XAGs. This is a guideline that offers different steps to keep in mind when making games more accessible which came from a partnership with industry experts and members of the Gaming & Disability community. While these steps should hopefully give developers a good checklist to keep track of when crafting their projects up, it’s possible to have some oversight on certain areas of the game.
That’s where Microsoft is opening up the ability for developers to send in their video games to the company. The title has to be either an Xbox or PC game and from there Microsoft would go through the title. Afterward, Microsoft would send back a list with helpful information and screenshots to showcase what changes could be made.
