Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is a great time to bring visibility to the importance of digital access and inclusion and to celebrate the play and creation of over 400 million disabled players worldwide. Today, I’m excited to be able to share some of Team Xbox’s work in partnership with the disabled community, to bring the power and connection of the game to more people. Because only when we all come together, deliberately pushing our focus on accessibility throughout the year and for more representation in our games and the people who make them, can we truly make Xbox a place where everyone can have fun and experience Can achieve. The joy of the game. To us it means,
- Nurture inclusive communities, connections, and support. Gaming has the ability to bring people together and share experiences that they might not otherwise have. We want to find a community and connect with it, partner with game developers so you can influence the next game and help with accessibility features.
- Enable accessible design and development. Incorporating accessibility and partnering with a disabled community from the start of a project gives birth to an experience that more people can enjoy. But sometimes it is difficult to know where to start or what resources to consider. By sharing what we learn, we want to incorporate and simplify gaming accessibility so that we and others can do more.
- Continuous investment in accessibility. Accessibility features allow players with disabilities to play, create and connect in their own way. We are committed to continuous innovation and partnership with the community to provide consistently accessible features and innovations in our products, games and services.
Nothing should come between players and their favorite games, which is why we are dedicated to finding accessibility solutions that help eliminate game barriers and make it easier to connect with others. In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Xbox players are thrilled to share new resources and more accessibility features available to gamers, in some ways players can connect with communities and developers.
Join us in celebrating GAAD and celebrating disabled builders and players who are part of our community.
Maintain inclusive community, connectivity, and support
Minecraft: Education Edition Accessibility
New this month, Buildability Is turned into Minecraft: Education Edition, A new accessibility themed world created in collaboration with the Peel District School Board in Ontario, Canada. Students explore the barriers experienced by people with disabilities that reflect our real world and learn how to identify and overcome accessibility barriers in their schools and communities by meeting an array of characters. The Minecraft learning experience promotes empathy and design thinking and problem solving at the core of socially sensitive learning. See full new details Minecraft: Education Edition The world.
American Sign Language (ASL) Xbox Twitch Channel
We’ve launched an American Sign Language (ASL) Xbox channel on Twitch at / XboxASL! Every day, the Xbox Plays team goes live on the Xbox Twitch channel, playing the latest and greatest headlines from the Xbox world. In April, they, in partnership SorensonA communications company with the world’s largest interpreter base has launched a new ASL Xbox channel featuring explanations for livestreams of about 25 hours per week. Check out the new channel here And Learn more about Xbox’s partnership with Sorenson here.
Xbox Accessibility Insider League (XAIL) + Windows Insider Program Partnership
The Xbox Accessibility Insider League (XAIL), Which has grown to over 163K members since its launch last May, is a convenient way for anyone identifying themselves as disabled or collaborative to provide direct accessibility feedback to Xbox engineering or game development teams. The Xbox team is now partnering with Windows Insider program To share new accessibility features in Windows 11 preview builds. We encourage XAIL members to check it out and respond with Windows 11! Get started today by joining XAIL and view announcements via Xbox Insider Hub on Xbox or PC.
Enable accessible design and development
Xbox Accessibility Guide (XAGs) 3.0 update with new mental health guidelines
Based on community and developer feedback, the latest Xbox Accessibility Guide (XAGs) The update, released this month, includes a brand new mental health guide in addition to guidelines for reducing motion sickness, on-screen text clarity, contrast and input guidelines. New examples and details of implementation have also been updated in this release.
New Gaming Accessibility Resource Hub
Gaming and Disability Community and Unity in Partnerships, Specialists in Unrealistic and Coherent Subjects Gaming Accessibility Resource Hub Has recently launched a comprehensive resource to provide gaming accessibility guidelines in one place. Covering training, discussion, testing equipment, and popular game engines, the resource was created to help game developers access all stages of their game’s accessibility. Content will be updated regularly in partnership with the community.
Gaming accessibility is a fundamental learning path
Launched in November 2021, Gaming accessibility is the way to learn the fundamentals A free 5-module course that introduces a wide range of topics, including basic accessibility fundamentals, how to collaborate with the disability community, helpful hardware and software technology, and best practices for gaming hardware development. The course is designed for those who are new to learning about game accessibility, and upon completion, participants receive a badge to celebrate their new knowledge. Gain your badge today and share on social to celebrate GAAD2022!
Continuous investment in accessibility for players
Making it easy to find accessible games
Last fall, the Xbox Xbox Store announced the addition of accessibility feature tags for games, making it easier for players to find games that contain one or more of the 20 accessibility tags that were defined in partnership with the disability community and user research. Now with over 400 title tags and over 100 with 5 or more tags, we’re excited to share players now Search and then filter Find their next game by one or more tags! This feature was based on community feedback, and we look forward to including future suggestions.
Console and platform accessibility features
Console and platform accessibility features make the game easier by creating customizations for your gameplay experience. Over the past few months, features such as the Console Silent UI to mute additional audio, the ability to remap share buttons on more than 22 commands, and the ability to resize and add tooltips to remap Xbox adaptive controllers have been added, which is especially helpful if a user controls shift. Remapped.
Forza Horizon 5 – Addition of ASL / BSL and other accessibility features
In partnership with the disabled community, playground games have been added American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) Support in Forza Horizon 5Its in-game cinematics. The team has included additional accessibility features using the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines and responses from the disabled community. Forza Horizon 5 Including game speed changes, high contrast mode, color blindness mode, screen reader narrator, ability to disable moving backgrounds and much more. See the Accessibility Features for more information Forza Horizon 5.
Connect game. Effect.
Xbox is proud to celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day and supports the power of the game and will continue to make gaming accessible and welcome for all. Today we share an example of how we support the community and how you can do the same
The game Forza Horizon 5 To earn and donate Microsoft Rewards Points
In May, earn Microsoft Rewards points by unlocking any achievement in Forza Horizon 5. Use the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox to claim rewards with donation options. Special effectsAn organization that helps people with physical disabilities through innovative use of technology, and PlayIts outreachWho empowers hospitalized children through video games.
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