The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has unveiled the Accessible Games Initiative, a groundbreaking "tag" system designed to enhance video game accessibility for consumers. Announced at the Game Developers Conference, this initiative is the result of collaboration among industry giants including Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Ubisoft, with additional support from Amazon, Riot Games, Square Enix, and WB Games. The ESA will oversee the management of this initiative.

Under this program, participating video game companies will utilize a set of 24 standardized tags to clearly indicate accessibility features on their game's product pages and digital storefronts. These tags will cover a range of features from "clear text" and "large and clear subtitles" to "narrated menus" and "stick inversion," helping players easily identify games that cater to their specific needs.

Stanley Pierre-Louis, the president and CEO of ESA, emphasized the significance of this initiative, 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 phased, implemented on a company-by-company basis, and initially available only in English. Over time, the initiative may expand to include more tags or refine existing ones to better serve the gaming community.

Accessible Games Initiative Tags:

Auditory Features

Tag: Multiple Volume Controls

Description: Separate volume controls are available for different types of sounds, allowing you to adjust music, speech, sound effects, background audio, text-to-speech audio, accessibility audio cues, and voice chat independently. Additionally, a single volume control can adjust all game sounds simultaneously.

Tag: Mono Sound

Description: This feature allows you to play with mono audio, where the same audio is sent to all channels, providing a single, combined audio channel.

Tag: Stereo Sound

Description: Enables playing with stereo audio, where sounds indicate their position from left to right, but not from above, below, ahead, or behind.

Tag: Surround Sound

Description: Allows for surround sound gameplay, where sounds indicate their position from any direction.

Tag: Narrated Menus

Description: Supports the use of screen readers or voice narration for menus and notifications, allowing you to navigate and understand menu interactions through audio cues.

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

Description: Facilitates the conversion of text chats to speech and vice versa in real-time during game chats with other players. This tag encompasses both auditory and visual features.

Gameplay Features

Tag: Difficulty Levels

Description: Offers multiple difficulty settings, including at least one option that lessens the intensity of challenges, with clear descriptions of the differences between levels.

Tag: Save Anytime

Description: Allows manual saving of game progress at any time, with exceptions during game loading or saving, or when saving could cause game-breaking scenarios.

Input Features

Tag: Basic Input Remapping

Description: Permits the rearrangement of button controls through simple methods like button swaps.

Tag: Full Input Remapping

Description: Enables comprehensive remapping of all game controls across supported input methods, including keyboards, mice, controllers, and virtual on-screen controls.

Tag: Stick Inversion

Description: Allows for the reversal of direction inputs such as thumbsticks or flight sticks, affecting game movement in up/down and left/right directions.

Tag: Playable without Button Holds

Description: Ensures gameplay without the need to hold digital inputs like keys or buttons, though some analog inputs may still require holding.

Tag: Playable without Rapid Button Presses

Description: Allows gameplay without the need for repetitive button actions such as button mashing or quick-time events.

Tag: Playable with Keyboard Only

Description: Supports gameplay using only a keyboard, without the need for any other devices.

Tag: Playable with Mouse Only

Description: Facilitates gameplay using only a mouse, including compatibility with adaptive technology that maps to mouse inputs.

Tag: Playable with Buttons Only

Description: Enables gameplay using only digital inputs like buttons or keys, where the pressure applied does not affect the controls.

Tag: Playable with Touch Only

Description: Allows gameplay using only touch controls, without requiring non-touch inputs like buttons or analog sticks.

Tag: Playable Without Motion Controls

Description: Permits gameplay without the use of motion controls.

Tag: Playable Without Touch Controls

Description: Allows gameplay without the use of touchpads or touchscreens.

Visual Features

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

Description: Provides real-time conversion of text chats to speech and vice versa during game chats with other players. This tag includes both auditory and visual features.

Tag: Clear Text

Description: Ensures text in menus, control panels, and settings is at a reasonable size with adjustable contrast, using less stylized fonts that can be changed to sans serif options.

Tag: Large Text

Description: Offers the ability to use a large font size for text in menus, control panels, and settings, relative to the device's screen resolution and typical viewing distance.

Tag: Large & Clear Subtitles

Description: Provides subtitles for all dialogue at a reasonable size with adjustable background transparency, ensuring they do not overlap with important game elements and use less stylized fonts.

Tag: Color Alternatives

Description: Ensures that important information is not solely communicated through color, using shapes, patterns, icons, or text as alternatives.

Tag: Camera Comfort

Description: Prevents or allows adjustment of camera effects that might cause discomfort, such as shaking, swaying, bobbing, motion blur, camera speed, and forced narrative-based movement.