Xbox Joins New Gaming Accessibility Initiative As Founding Member

Microsoft (and Team Xbox) will be joining the new "Accessible Games Initiative" as a founding member alongside Electronic Arts, Google, Nintendo of America and Ubisoft.

This new "cross-industry effort" led by the Entertainment Software Association in the US aims to provide clear information about the accessibility features in video games. This will be achieved with the launch of 24 "tags" - all with "clear criteria".

Some examples of these tags include "clear text, large and clear subtitles, narrated menus, stick inversion and save anytime". Here's part of what Xbox had to say about this new initiative:

At Xbox, our goal is to empower as many people as possible to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want, in a way that works for them. This includes the more than 429 million players with some form of disability, who may rely on a variety of accessibility hardware – such as the recently launched Xbox Adaptive Joystick – and features to get the most from their gaming.

We are excited to be part of the Accessible Games Initiative and happy to share our years of learnings from our Xbox Game Accessibility Feature Tags to help inform these new tags, alongside our partners. As with any advancements made that enable more people to play, we are thrilled to see more steps being taken in the name of inclusion and greater standardization of accessibility in games. We hope this collaborative effort across multiple gaming companies signals the power of accessibility to connect people, bring joy, and build community to the rest of the industry.

In the same way, we hope the Accessible Games Initiative emboldens game developers to not only implement these tags in the name of inclusion, but inspires them to consider building more accessibility into their games as a result.

The plan over time is to place the Accessible Games Initiative tags near game product information and on "digital storefronts, product pages or digital catalogues" - helping provide players (and other consumers) with clear information about accessibility features before making a purchase.

Other companies that have already on signed on to this initiative include Amazon Games, Riot Games, Square Enix and Warner Bros. Games.

As noted by Xbox, this follows its efforts in November 2021 when it introduced its own game accessibility feature tags:

If we hear any significant updates, we'll let you know.