Xbox Adaptive Controller
Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has always strived to make Xbox, and gaming in general, more accessible. With this in mind, it's announced developers will now be able to send their games in to be evaluated (according to the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines) and get them tested by members of the Gaming & Disability Community - allowing for valuable feedback and insights.

Here's part of the full announcement, courtesy of the official Xbox website:

Developers now have the option to send Microsoft their Xbox or PC title and have it analyzed and validated against the recommendations provided in the XAGs. Where issues are found, they are noted with reproduction steps, screenshots, and other information to help the developer understand what aspect of a given experience may be challenging for certain gamers with disabilities.

They also wanted to make sure that developers understood the potential impact of a given issue on our gamers. To that end, the reports include additional information such as links to gaming accessibility and inclusive design documentation, non-profits and industry-recognized subject matter experts, platform-specific technical documentation, and more.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the program, however, is the inclusion of gamers with disabilities as part of the testing project. Every test pass includes members of the Gaming & Disability Community to not only run test cases against games, but to provide their feedback and insights as well.

Microsoft originally began working on its Accessibility Guidelines in early 2019 and eventually launched them in January 2020. It's also released products such as the Xbox Adaptive Controller in the past.

You can get the full rundown about the future of Microsoft's game accessibility over on the official website.

Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

[source news.xbox.com]