ESA Launches Initiative for Game Accessibility Features

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has unveiled the Accessible Games Initiative, a groundbreaking "tag" system designed to enhance video game accessibility for consumers. Announced at the Game Developers Conference, this initiative was crafted by a coalition of major gaming industry players, including Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Ubisoft. Additional companies such as Amazon, Riot Games, Square Enix, and WB Games have also joined, with the ESA overseeing the initiative's management.

Under this initiative, participating game companies will use a standardized set of 24 tags to highlight accessibility features on their digital storefronts and product pages. These tags cover a wide range of features, including "clear text," "large and clear subtitles," "narrated menus," "stick inversion," "save anytime," "difficulty levels," and "playable without button holds," among others.

Stanley Pierre-Louis, ESA's president and CEO, emphasized the significance of this initiative, stating, "Tens of millions of Americans have a disability and often face barriers to experiencing the joy and connection that comes with playing video games. We are immensely proud to announce the Accessible Games Initiative in partnership with industry leaders. This initiative demonstrates how impactful we can be when we work together in our industry-wide pursuit of helping more people experience the power of play."

The rollout of these tags will occur gradually, on a company-by-company basis, and while they are not mandatory, they promise to offer valuable information to consumers. Initially, the tags will be available in English, with potential future expansions and adjustments.

Accessible Games Initiative Tags:

Auditory Features

Tag: Multiple Volume Controls

Description: Separate volume controls are available for different types of sounds, allowing users to adjust the volume of music, speech, sound effects, background audio, text-to-speech audio, accessibility audio cues, and voice chat independently. Additionally, a single control can adjust all game sounds simultaneously.

Tag: Mono Sound

Description: Enables playing with mono audio, where the same audio is sent to all channels, providing a single, combined audio experience.

Tag: Stereo Sound

Description: Facilitates playing with stereo audio, where sounds indicate their position from left to right, but not vertically or from behind.

Tag: Surround Sound

Description: Supports playing with surround sound, allowing sounds to indicate their direction from any angle.

Tag: Narrated Menus

Description: Allows the use of screen readers or voice narration for menus and notifications, enabling users to navigate through menus one item at a time with audio feedback.

Tag: Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech*

Description: Enables text-to-speech and speech-to-text for game chats, allowing real-time narration of text chats and real-time text transcription of voice chats. *This tag includes both auditory and visual features.

Gameplay Features

Tag: Difficulty Levels

Description: Offers multiple difficulty options, including at least one that reduces the intensity of challenges, with clear descriptions of the differences between levels.

Tag: Save Anytime

Description: Allows manual saving of progress at any time, with exceptions during game saving/loading or when saving could lead to game-breaking scenarios.

Input Features

Tag: Basic Input Remapping

Description: Permits rearranging button controls, with the "Full Input Remapping" tag offering more comprehensive remapping capabilities.

Tag: Full Input Remapping

Description: Enables complete remapping of all game controls for all supported input methods, including the ability to swap controller stick functionality.

Tag: Stick Inversion

Description: Allows changing how directional inputs like thumbsticks affect game movement in up/down and left/right directions.

Tag: Playable without Button Holds

Description: Facilitates playing without the need to hold digital inputs, though some analog inputs may still require holding.

Tag: Playable without Rapid Button Presses

Description: Eliminates the need for repetitive button actions like button mashing and quick-time events.

Tag: Playable with Keyboard Only

Description: Supports playing the game using only a keyboard, without any other devices.

Tag: Playable with Mouse Only

Description: Enables playing the game using only a mouse, including support for adaptive technologies that map to mouse inputs.

Tag: Playable with Buttons Only

Description: Allows playing the game using only digital inputs like buttons or keys, where pressure does not affect the controls.

Tag: Playable with Touch Only

Description: Supports playing the game using only touch controls, without requiring non-touch inputs.

Tag: Playable Without Motion Controls

Description: Enables playing the game without the need for motion controls.

Tag: Playable Without Touch Controls

Description: Allows playing the game without using touchpads or touchscreens.

Visual Features

Tag: Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech*

Description: Enables text-to-speech and speech-to-text for game chats, allowing real-time narration of text chats and real-time text transcription of voice chats. *This tag includes both auditory and visual features.

Tag: Clear Text

Description: Ensures text in menus, control panels, and settings is reasonably sized and adjustable for contrast, with options for less stylized fonts.

Tag: Large Text

Description: Provides options for large font sizes in menus, control panels, and settings, relative to the device's screen resolution and viewing distance.

Tag: Large & Clear Subtitles

Description: Offers subtitles for all dialogue, with adjustable size, background transparency, and font style, ensuring they do not overlap with important game elements.

Tag: Color Alternatives

Description: Ensures that important information is not solely communicated through color or can be adjusted, using shapes, patterns, icons, or text instead.

Tag: Camera Comfort

Description: Prevents or allows the adjustment of camera effects that could cause discomfort, including shaking, swaying, bobbing, motion blur, and forced narrative-based movement.