Microsoft has reported that they will be adding new accessibility features to the Xbox. As October is considered as National Disability Employment Awareness month, Microsoft is also looking out for gamers with disabilities. There are around 400,000 disabled video game players, it’s about to get a bit helpful for disabled gamers as Microsoft will be doing some simple additions to the gaming experience, to make it possible for them to enjoy. This can also be hard for the game developers to find out the basic features that would be made for most disabled video gamers.
Back in 2010, a device name Kinect was made for Xbox 360 to improve the accessibility for gamers. Kinect allowed the players to play Xbox with their body or voice. An Xbox adaptive controller was also released back in 2018, with the intention of improving the accessibility of gaming for all gamers. This raised a discussion of what more could be done to fulfill every gamer’s needs. This helped in adding features like Copilot, which was helpful for two controllers to work at the same time This resulted in the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines and added Copilot. Copilot allows two controllers to work as a single one.
A revealing video was put on by Microsoft, which was about new accessibility features. It revealed the latest things the company had been working on. It was for both Xbox and PC. Putting tags on the video games that make sure of the accessibility features in the Microsoft store about that game.
What are the additional features for accessibility?
The Xbox’s menu has been renamed to accessibility which makes it easy to access. Other features include Eye filters for blue light, brightness on both controller and console can be decreased and can be changed to our own liking. People with color weaknesses such as deuteranopia or tritanopia can have additional filters that can make it easy for them to view.
The video released by Microsoft included the views of disabled gamers on the accessibility features. Many disabled people feel to be socially away and video games might be a way for them to interact with other people. Therefore, it isn’t right if there are no accessibility features as it is very irritating with no better playing opportunities.
Game developers who are interested to develop more accessibility features are supported by Xbox. The features such as making it easy to understand what accessibility is and how to develop more accessible options. The accessibility options include User Interface, Haptic Feedback, and Narrations on-screen.
Microsoft is trying to become more accessible to disabled players even beyond the gaming scenarios. Some companies only do this for their own marketing benefits. Thus, Microsoft is now providing diverse jobs for the candidates to allowing them to demonstrate their skills and strategies within Minecraft. This also allows the candidates to play together and see how they work as a team. In the upcoming weeks, we can also see the introduction of the speech-to-text and text-to-speech chat section and there will be a better cross-platform connection and low latency on Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, and the Xbox Adaptive Controller.