When it comes to accessibility, Microsoft and Xbox are way ahead of everyone, it’s no secret. The American giant is also announcing a series of updates and actions in favor of the 429 million players with disabilities around the world. Little things that actually make it possible to improve the comfort and use of your Xbox at home and of which here are the details without further ado.
– A new “Accessibility” channel on the Xbox Store and Xbox.com that includes hundreds of games and thousands of accessibility tags, making it even easier for gamers to find their next favorite game that meets their needs.
– An update to wireless pairing that no longer requires direct contact with the console. From the comfort of a couch, wheelchair or hospital bed, gamers can now put their console into pairing mode using an Xbox media remote, voice command from the digital assistant or an already paired controller to connect a new controller to their console.
– A new “Accessibility Settings” menu on Xbox widgets in the Game Bar. Promoting a more accessible gaming experience on PC, this new menu makes it even easier for players to locate accessibility settings on the platform.
– A new step for the “Xbox Accessibility Ambassador Explorer Path” program. After more than 2 million quests completed since its launch in October 2022, Xbox is pleased to announce that in the coming months, the program will incorporate knowledge assessments as well as new badges to celebrate the skills acquired by ambassadors in accessibility.
– The implementation of the “Playbook for Accessible Gaming Events”, a guide for event management bringing together 12 best practices that Xbox has learned from players with disabilities over the years.
– A reconfiguration of the keys to the keyboard for Elite 2 and Adaptive Controller controllers. In the coming months, gamers will be able to reassign the buttons on their Adaptive Xbox or Elite 2 controllers to the nearly 90 keys on their keyboard. In particular, this will allow players with reduced mobility to use the Xbox Adaptive Controller in games that only support the mouse and keyboard.