Xbox marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) by sharing a blog post wherein the Microsoft-owned brand detailed accessibility updates. The post was written by Kaitlyn Jones, senior accessibility product manager for Xbox’s gaming accessibility group.
“International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed each December to promote awareness, understanding and equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of society and development,” Jones wrote in the blog post’s introduction. “At Xbox, we view play as a fundamental aspect of today’s society that should be accessible to as many people as possible. We strive to create inclusive experiences that empower players to enjoy the games they want, in the ways they want, surrounded by the communities they want to play with.”
Jones mentioned peripheral-centric updates pertaining to the Xbox Adaptive Controller and Elite Series 2. There are new remapping options available to players, of which Jones said is “an important part of accessibility” as it gives people the ability to customize controls based on their needs and tolerances. The update features new functionality such as Toggle Holds and mapping stick moment to button presses. Both, Jones said, are generally intended for gamers who may lack the dexterity for prolonged button presses and the like. In addition, players now have the option to map mouse inputs to the Xbox controller, giving them the ability to “use an Xbox Adaptive Controller to view a game guide on YouTube during a break in the action, make a PowerPoint presentation or check email,” Jones said. Lastly, Xbox announced it has added support for remapping the hat switch on some joysticks to function as “the opposite stick” when attached to the Xbox Adaptive Controller.
Elsewhere, Jones mentions the slew of updates made to Diablo IV and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. I covered these last month. Both titles are nominees in the Game Awards’ Innovation in Accessibility category; the ceremony takes place next week in Los Angeles. And in World of Warcraft, the development team is celebrating Norwegian gamer Mats “Ibelin” Steen ahead of the Netflix documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. Steen has a progressive neuromuscular disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and WoW players can purchase the Raven pack in support of the nonprofit CureDuchenne organization, which Jones writes is a leader in the “research, [patient] care, and innovation for improving and extending the lives of individuals with Duchenne.”
This week’s news from Xbox comes after similar news from late August.
