Digital accessibility in gaming ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can participate fully by removing unnecessary barriers and creating inclusive experiences. Integrating accessibility from the start can help developers learn how this benefits all players while fostering a more welcoming and inclusive gaming community.
- Accessibility doesn’t mean making games easier — it’s about making games playable for everyone. By lowering unnecessary barriers without sacrificing complexity, you can make sure your game welcomes all players.
- Integrating accessibility from the design stage leads to smoother implementation and better outcomes. Retroactive fixes can be costly and disruptive, while early consideration makes accessibility a natural part of game development.
- Designing for accessibility doesn’t just help players with disabilities; it enhances the experience for all players by adding flexibility and customizability. Many accessibility features, like customizable controls or adjustable difficulty, are appreciated by a wide range of players.
- Whether it’s through community feedback, individual player satisfaction, or recognition from advocacy groups, successful accessibility efforts manifest in various ways. By assessing these efforts regularly, you can identify areas for improvement and celebrate achievements.
What is digital accessibility?
Digital accessibility refers to the design and development of digital experiences that are inclusive of all users, regardless of abilities. It encompasses a wide range of considerations, from visual and auditory capabilities to cognitive and physical needs, ensuring that digital content is usable by everyone.
The importance of accessibility
Putting thinking into action, building accessibility into games opens up gameplay to more than one billion people with disabilities around the world. Four hundred million players with disabilities are playing and creating content across the globe. There are 46 million gamers with disabilities in the US alone, and 92% of people with disabilities play video games.
There are also legal standards and guidelines to consider. Check out What Is CVAA for more information on what this means for gaming developers and studios.
Creating accessible technology, content, and digital spaces is key in all industries. Disabilities are not barriers; the barriers are created by technology, content, and digital spaces that fail to accommodate diverse abilities and needs.
Types of disabilities
People with various types of disabilities are impacted by accessibility issues, including:
- Visual — Blindness, color blindness, low vision
- Auditory — Deafness, hard of hearing
- Physical — Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, ALS, muscular dystrophy, arthritis
- Neurological — Epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral palsy
- Cognitive — Dyslexia, aphasia, dyscalculia, Down syndrome
Disabilities can be permanent, temporary, or situational, meaning that accessibility considerations can impact anyone at any time.
Medical and social models of disability
The medical model of accessibility views disability as a problem inherent to the individual, focusing on diagnosis, treatment, and “fixing” the disability to conform to the norm.
The social model of disability posits that disability arises from societal organization rather than an individual’s impairment or difference. It emphasizes the need to remove barriers that limit the life choices of disabled people. By eliminating these barriers, individuals with disabilities can achieve independence and equality in society, gaining control and choice over their lives.
The necessity and benefits of accessibility
Considering accessibility early and often offers advantages for everyone. By designing games, websites, and digital content to be accessible, we create opportunities for everyone to enjoy and benefit from them, fostering a more inclusive and enjoyable experience for all.
Developers and studios are turning toward creating more adaptive tech and flexible gameplay features. Let’s highlight some groundbreaking games with built in accessibility:
- The Last of Us Part II — This game covers over 60 accessibility options to accommodate players with vision, hearing, and motor skill impairments, including high-contrast modes, text-to-speech, and fully customizable controls.
- Baldur’s Gate 3 — The latest patch adds mods, adjustable UI displays, and custom difficulty settings to existing features, such as an accessible control scheme, high contrast mode, and TTS.
- Forza Motorsport — Offers features like an initial setup menu, subtitles, audio descriptions, and award winning driving assist difficulty settings.
Making games accessible, not easy
Making a game accessible shouldn’t make you automatically think “It will make the game easier.” Let’s talk about the following terms:
- Skill floor — The basic knowledge needed for a task.
- Skill ceiling — The point where there is nothing more to learn.
A high floor only raises the barrier of entry for new players while having little impact on experienced players. Let’s discuss ways to only lower the skill floor for our audience to play easily and with intentionality while keeping the ceiling high and competitive.
Imagine a new digital game designed like a virtual playground with various attractions. It’s an exciting world where players can explore, solve puzzles, and interact with each other. Let’s look at some before and after examples when accessibility is factored into design:
| Puzzle | Objective | Impacted Players | Accessibility Considerations |
| Obstacle Course | To enter the obstacle course, players need to press several buttons in quick succession | Those with limited manual dexterity or motor impairments find it impossible to participate | The game offers alternative controls, such as voice commands or simplified button sequences, making it accessible to players with different physical abilities |
| Maze Adventure | The maze requires players to differentiate between multiple shades of red and green | Colorblind players can’t navigate it properly and feel frustrated | The maze uses distinct patterns and textures in addition to colors, ensuring that colorblind players can also navigate successfully |
| Sound Puzzle | To unlock a treasure chest, players must identify and replicate a series of musical notes | Deaf or hard-of-hearing players are immediately excluded | Visual cues accompany the musical notes, so players can use sight and sound to solve the puzzle |
| Time Trials | Certain challenges need to be completed within a tight time frame | Players with cognitive disabilities, who may process information more slowly, are unable to compete | Players can adjust the time limits or pause the game, making it more inclusive for those who need extra time to complete challenges |
By incorporating these accessible features, the digital playground becomes a space where all players can enjoy the game, regardless of their physical, sensory, or cognitive abilities. This inclusive approach not only allows everyone to participate but also enhances the overall gaming experience, fostering a sense of community and belonging among players.
Difficulty is not universal
Remember, options are accessibility features. Game customizations should be included in a way that players can choose whether to use any of it, rather than tying it all to a specific difficulty level that defines the entire game.
Prioritizing your approach to accessibility
When prioritizing accessibility, consider the impact, cost, and effort required:
- Impact — Focus on high-impact features or products that serve common accommodation types.
- Cost — Address low-hanging fruit and consider the cost of addressing issues now versus later.
- Effort — Effort varies based on the stage of the product development cycle, but early integration is key.
Accessibility is achievable, even for small development teams. It’s not just about adding color options — there are a range of solutions, from alternative controls to visual cues, that can make a game more inclusive. The key is to start with small, thoughtful steps and build accessibility into your design process.
Ongoing efforts
Accessibility work is never truly finished. It is a balancing act that is interactive, challenging, user-focused, community interaction, and always evolving to meet new standards, guidelines, user needs, hardware, and software advancements.
What does success look like in accessibility?
Successful accessibility efforts can be measured across three dimensions — community, individuals, and groups. Here’s how you can assess if your digital accessibility interventions are working and identify warning signs that indicate further attention is needed:
| Type | Success signs | Warning signs |
| Individual | Players with disabilities express satisfaction with how accessible features allow them to experience the game fully You receive direct feedback praising features like customizable controls, visual and auditory options, and assistive technologies | Individual players report frustrations with the lack of options You receive feedback about how specific game mechanics (e.g., time-dependent challenges, color reliance) prevent full participation |
| Group | Specialized interest groups such as accessibility advocates, disability rights organizations, or accessibility influencers acknowledge the game as a positive example of inclusivity The game might even receive recognition or awards for accessibility | There’s public criticism from advocacy groups The game fails to meet industry accessibility standards, leading to negative reviews or poor compliance reports |
| Community | Increased participation and engagement from people with disabilities in online communities, player forums, and social media. Players feel included, share their experiences, and contribute positively to the conversation | Feedback from players with disabilities is minimal or non-existent, or there’s vocal dissatisfaction about accessibility barriers Discussions about inaccessibility spread among gaming communities, and the game is considered unwelcoming |
Final thoughts
Remember that your players will grow with you. The young gamers of today will be the older adults of tomorrow, and their needs will evolve over time. To keep your players engaged, there is a need to offer more accessibility options as their vision, hearing, or motor skills evolve.
Imagine if you start designing now with features that adapt to these changes — features that help players who’ve been with you from the beginning continue to enjoy your games decades from now. Why not plan for a future where everyone, regardless of age or ability, can keep gaming. A future where your earliest players can still feel the thrill of a new challenge and conquer it, no matter how much time passes. This commitment isn’t just about making games; it’s about putting players first — promising to grow together and embracing every player along the way. This shifts the focus away from aiming for the bare minimum or merely meeting requirements and pushes beyond compliance toward innovation and removing the boundaries of what accessible games can be. Accessibility is necessary for some and beneficial for all.
Now what?
Continue reading about accessibility with What is CVAA?
References
- Morris, W. (2021). AbleGamers just got a big win for the disabled gaming community. Wired.
- Mortaloni, A. (2022). Xbox celebrates the gaming and disability community for global accessibility awareness day. Xbox.
- Mutt, C. (2019). Accessibility finally matters to the game industry — but it needs to do better. VentureBeat.
- The World Health Organization. (2023). Disability.
