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Writer's pictureCourt Lalonde

Xbox Announces New Accessibility Updates


Xbox Accessibility Updates
Xbox Accessibility Updates

Xbox announced new accessibility updates today via Xbox Wire. Every October, Xbox takes time to celebrate the disability community and recently celebrated its partnership with the Special Olympics in the form of Gaming for Inclusion, a hybrid, multi-day tournament that aims to showcase the power of inclusion through gaming, break down barriers and empower Special Olympics athletes through technology.


"Gaming allows us to experience worlds beyond imagination, share our stories and forge friendships with people across the world. At Xbox, we believe that gaming is for everyone, including the over 429 million players with disabilities, and it is our responsibility to create a place where everyone feels welcome, safe, and included to experience the joy and community of gaming."


Xbox mentioned that prioritizing accessibility in gaming invites more people to experience gaming by empowering all gamers to play in a way that is true to them.


The new updates are:

  • Recognizing Craig Hospital’s Adaptive Gaming Program, which showcases the power of play and the importance of making gaming for everyone.

  • Sharing new accessibility features from Team Xbox.

  • Unveiling the Playbook for Accessible Gaming Events, an events guide that shares 12 best practices Xbox has learned partnering with the Gaming & Disability community over the years.

  • Highlighting the Accessibility in Games channel in the Xbox store, which now features hundreds of games and thousands of accessibility tags!

  • Announcing the next chapter of the Xbox Ambassador Accessibility Explorer Path, including new knowledge checks and badges, while recognizing the over 2 million quests completed since its launch in October 2022.

  • Spotlighting some of our favourite accessible games, including Sea of Thieves, Age of Empires, and the recently launched Forza Motorsport.

  • And much more!


Xbox states that many of the players at Craig Hospital use the Xbox Adaptive Controller to customize their gameplay.


Xbox Adaptive Controller
Xbox Adaptive Controller

Elite 2 & Adaptive Controller to Keyboard Remapping is coming, and players will soon be able to remap controller buttons to almost 90 keyboard keys on the Xbox Adaptive Controller and Elite Series 2, allowing players with limited mobility to use the Xbox Adaptive Controller with games that only support mouse/keyboard input.


Remapping the Adaptive Controller
Remapping the Adaptive Controller

This new feature will be available in the coming months and is currently available to the Xbox Insider program.


At PAX West 2023, Xbox offered developers and publishers a chance to validate their accessibility settings through the Microsoft Gaming Accessibility Testing Service (MGATS).


In the post, Xbox also highlighted some of their most recent accomplishments in accessibility in gaming which are below.





When everyone can play, we all win.



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