ESA Launches Initiative for Game Accessibility Details

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has unveiled the Accessible Games Initiative at the Game Developers Conference, a groundbreaking "tag" system designed to enhance video game accessibility for consumers. This initiative, spearheaded by a coalition including Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Ubisoft, has also seen participation from Amazon, Riot Games, Square Enix, and WB Games. The ESA will oversee the management of this initiative, which aims to provide detailed accessibility information for video games.

Under this initiative, participating companies will label their games with specific "tags" from a curated list of 24. These tags will appear alongside game details on digital storefronts and product pages, offering consumers clear information about the accessibility features available in each game. Examples of these tags include "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 president and CEO, emphasized the initiative's significance, 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 be gradual and company-specific, and while they are not mandatory, they represent a significant step forward in making gaming more inclusive. Initially, the tags will be available only in English, but the ESA has indicated that more tags or adjustments to existing ones may be developed over time.

Accessible Games Initiative Tags:

Auditory Features

Tag: Multiple Volume Controls

Description: Separate volume controls are available for different types of sounds. The volume can be changed separately for music, speech, sound effects, background audio, text-to-speech audio, accessibility audio cues, and voice chat. All game sounds can also be changed at once using one volume control.

Tag: Mono Sound

Description: Allows you to play with mono audio. The same audio will be sent to all channels (e.g., both left and right headphones), effectively providing a single, combined audio channel.

Tag: Stereo Sound

Description: Allows you to play with stereo audio. Sounds communicate how far to the left or right they are coming from, but not whether they are coming from above, below, ahead, or behind you.

Tag: Surround Sound

Description: Allows you to play with surround sound. Sounds communicate where they are coming from, which may include any direction.

Tag: Narrated Menus

Description: Allows you to use screen readers or voice narration for menus and notifications. Screen readers can access all menus, or the game provides similar functionality. Interactions and context changes are controlled by you and announced through narration. You can move through menus one item at a time, rather than steering a cursor.

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

Description: Allows you to use text-to-speech and speech-to-text for game chats with other players. Text chats can be narrated out loud in real-time, and voice chats can be read as a text transcript in real-time. This tag contains both auditory and visual features.

Gameplay Features

Tag: Difficulty Levels

Description: Allows you to select from multiple difficulty options, including at least one option that reduces the intensity of the challenges. Differences between difficulty levels are also described.

Tag: Save Anytime

Description: Allows you to manually save your progress at any time. Exceptions include when the game is saving or loading, or when saving could result in game-breaking scenarios or blocked progress, such as during death animations.

Input Features

Tag: Basic Input Remapping

Description: Allows you to rearrange the button controls. Button controls can be swapped or rearranged by some other method. The "Full Input Remapping" tag allows you to remap all game controls, not just button controls, and remap them by choosing which action is performed by which input.

Tag: Full Input Remapping

Description: Allows you to choose which action in the game is assigned to which control. All game controls can be remapped for all directly supported input methods, e.g., keyboard, mouse, controllers, and virtual on-screen controllers. Controller stick functionality can be swapped. The "Basic Input Remapping" tag allows you to remap only button controls, and remap by simple methods like button swap.

Tag: Stick Inversion

Description: Allows you to change how direction inputs such as thumbsticks affect game movement in the up and down and left and right directions. Examples of these directional inputs include thumbsticks and flight sticks.

Tag: Playable without Button Holds

Description: Allows you to play without button holds. The game doesn’t require digital inputs (like keys or buttons) to be held. Some analog inputs (like sticks and triggers) may still require holds.

Tag: Playable without Rapid Button Presses

Description: Allows you to avoid repetitive button actions like button mashing and quick-time events.

Tag: Playable with Keyboard Only

Description: Allows you to play using only your keyboard. The game can be played with a keyboard alone, without any other devices.

Tag: Playable with Mouse Only

Description: Allows you to play using only your mouse. This also allows you to play using adaptive tech that maps to mouse inputs.

Tag: Playable with Buttons Only

Description: Allows you to play using only buttons where the amount of pressure doesn’t affect the controls. The game and menus can be controlled using only digital inputs (like buttons or keys).

Tag: Playable with Touch Only

Description: Allows you to play using only touch controls. Players are not required to use any type of non-touch controls, such as buttons or analog sticks.

Tag: Playable Without Motion Controls

Description: Allows you to play without using motion controls.

Tag: Playable Without Touch Controls

Description: Allows you to play without using touchpads or touchscreens.

Visual Features

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

Description: Allows you to use text-to-speech and speech-to-text for game chats with other players. Text chats can be narrated out loud in real-time, and voice chats can be read as a text transcript in real-time. This tag contains both auditory and visual features.

Tag: Clear Text

Description: Text in menus, control panels, and settings is a reasonable size. You can adjust the contrast. Text is at a reasonable size relative to the device’s screen resolution and typical viewing distance. Font is less stylized or can be changed to a less stylized option (e.g., sans serif). Text has, or can be adjusted to, a reasonable contrast against all backgrounds. (See “Large & Clear Subtitles” tag for subtitle text options.)

Tag: Large Text

Description: Allows you to use a large font size for text in menus, control panels, and settings. Text can be in a large size relative to the device’s screen resolution and typical viewing distance. (See “Large & Clear Subtitles” tag for subtitle text options.)

Tag: Large & Clear Subtitles

Description: Subtitles are available for all dialogue. Text is at a reasonable size relative to the device’s screen resolution and typical viewing distance. The subtitle background transparency can be adjusted. Subtitles don’t overlap with important game elements. Font is less stylized or can be changed to a less stylized option (e.g., sans serif). This tag covers spoken game dialogue only and doesn’t include text displayed for other audio such as speaker tone or environmental sounds that are typically included in captions.

Tag: Color Alternatives

Description: Color is not used to communicate important information or can be adjusted. Shape, pattern, icons, or text is used to communicate information instead of color.

Tag: Camera Comfort

Description: There are no camera effects that may cause discomfort or harm (e.g., nausea, headaches) or those effects can be turned off or adjusted. 'Camera effects' includes, but is not limited to: shaking, swaying, bobbing, motion blur, camera speed, and forced narrative-based movement.