There are some big changes coming to Xbox. Microsoft has announced a wave of gaming accessibility features coming to Xbox consoles, controllers and services. These changes should make gaming a more accessible hobby for a broader audience.
According to Xbox, there are more than 400 million gamers with disabilities across the world. While the gaming industry hasn’t always catered to this audience’s needs, that’s starting to change. Here’s a look at the latest Xbox accessibility updates and how they’ll help more gamers.
A Look at the New Xbox Accessibility Features
The first of these new Xbox accessibility updates is the introduction of accessibility feature tags. These tags will display what accessibility features games on the Xbox Store have, like narrated menus or button remapping. That way, gamers can get a better idea of what games they can play before buying them.
There are also some changes coming to the Xbox Series S and X settings. Xbox is renaming the “Ease of Access” page to “Accessibility” to make it easier to find. Gamers will also be able to access these settings from a quick settings menu, making them easier to adjust.
The new settings will also include a color filter that gamers can apply to anything running on their Xbox. Before, colorblind users had to adjust these settings across every app individually, assuming they even had the option. Similarly, Xbox is rolling out universal speech-to-text and text-to-speech chat options.
While the Series X and S have several key differences, these gaming accessibility features will come to both consoles. That way, gamers can use them no matter what console they use.
Xbox is also bringing some updates to its wireless controllers. All controllers will now have the lower latency and better cross-device connectivity of the Series X and S controllers. This should come as a welcome change to gamers who may have had to resort to connecting a DualSense controller to their PC before.
Finally, Xbox is offering a free Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals course to developers to learn how to make games more accessible.
Part of a Larger Trend
These Xbox accessibility features come as the latest update in a growing trend. As gaming has become more popular, companies have realized that many people with disabilities want to enjoy their games but may have a harder time doing so. Changes like these help more people enjoy games to their full extent.
Even small changes can make a difference. For example, the PS5 DualSense controller is larger than the PS4 controller, making it easier to handle, especially if gamers have joint pain.
Features like text-to-speech, customizable controls and color adjustments are becoming more common across games, too. Not long ago, it seemed like many developers didn’t think about the need for features like these. Now, they’re commonplace, making gaming more enjoyable for more people.
Gaming Accessibility Is Growing
Gaming accessibility still has a long way to go, but it’s improving. As major players like Xbox take these steps to make gaming more accessible, other companies will follow. With more industry-wide action, all gamers will be able to play the way they want.