Fandom spaces and nerd culture are often touted as being inclusive. Many consider them safe spaces, where they can engage in shared interests with like-minded people without fear of judgment. While there is truth to this, not everyone has the same experience. For many fans, these spaces are not fully accessible.

Game accessibility, in particular, has been a focal point. For many years, mainstream video game developers never considered adapting their games to individual gamers’ needs. This meant that the onus of accessibility fell onto the gamers themselves. Users were forced to come up with their own solutions to barriers, ones that often made the playing experience difficult or uncomfortable. Slowly, developers began adding more accessible features to their games, with the 2010s being a turning point for accessibility.

What Gamers Need

In the United States, as of 2025, around 25 percent of people have a disability. Globally, disabled people make up around 16 percent. These numbers are telling and they don’t even include things like color blindness or temporary conditions like a broken arm. Accessibility features help a lot of people, and can help people that might not even need the features regularly (think text to speech). The first step to an inclusive gaming experience is knowing the breadth of features that users may need, from visual to motor.

Visual

Blindness is a spectrum. What this means is that, like many other disabilities, blind people don’t all use the same accommodations. Keep this in mind when designing games with accessibility features to make them usable by as many people as possible. Two of the main areas for visual accessibility are related to text and sound design.

Text and other visual aspects of the game, such as the cursor, should be customizable. This allows users to adjust the text’s presentation to their own preferences. This could mean changing the background/font color, opacity, and size. These tips apply to all the visual aspects of the game beyond text, as well. Visual cues should be big enough and clear enough for players with lower vision to notice. They should also not rely on color alone to indicate important information. This applies to not only blind people, but those with color blindness.

Other accessibility features are text to speech and audio description. Text to speech allows subtitles and other text to be read aloud. Audio description tracks go a step further in providing visual elements like character actions and environmental descriptors. In both cases, the audio should be adjustable for speech rate, type of voice, and more.

Auditory

For Deaf, hard of hearing, and other users with hearing loss, subtitles are a basic accessibility feature that games should include. The same considerations surrounding user customization should be made here as with the visual category. This makes the experience much smoother, especially for DeafBlind users with differing levels of residual vision. No information should rely solely on sound. There should be subtitles and visual cues implemented in the game design. Having the ability to use text chat alongside or in lieu of voice chat in multiplayer mode is also needed.

Many Deaf people use signed languages as a primary means of communication. They may need or just prefer signed language over written English subtitles. In these cases, having interpreted cutscenes or built-in characters that use sign language makes the game more comprehensible and immersive for Deaf players. However, keep in mind that sign language is not universal. The sign language used will have to be localised for the country the game is released in.

Cognitive

Cognitive disabilities is an umbrella term for a wide range of different disabilities. Some of these include ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. People with these kinds of disability may experiences trouble with attention, memory, and comprehension, among other things.

Those with dyslexia benefit from clear, readable fonts like Sans Serif with adjustability of font size, color, and backgrounds, much like those with low vision. Text to speech is another useful tool here. Clarity is important throughout the game, however, not just in relation to text. People who have trouble processing may find long, complex narratives confusing. An option to remedy this would be making all instructions clear and simple or offering different modes with different complexity levels.

Visual environments in games can also cause sensory overload or other difficulties. Ensure that there are ways to toggle off background noises, visual elements like flashing lights, and different visual indicators, as necessary. Clarity and adjustability can drastically improve a player’s experience.

Speech

Speech recognition systems can be unreliable even for people without speech-related disabilities. But for people with stutters and slow or slurred speech or who are nonverbal, speech recognition can be impossible to use. These systems even have trouble with different types of accents, making this an important topic for non-disabled gamers as well. Speech should be optional, not required for any portion of the game. Alternatives to speech include text, symbols, and emotes.

It’s also important to note how the speech recognition is programmed. A good rule of thumb is to focus on volume levels and simple words to trigger speech recognition rather than full sentences.

Motor

A large majority of games rely on hand and and arm mobility to play. You have to be able to hold a controller or use a keyboard and mouse, clicking buttons and making lots of precise movements. This can make it virtually impossible for some people with limited mobility to play their favorite games.

One factor to consider is controls. Controls should be adjustable to the player’s needs. The sensitivity levels should be adjustable as well as remapping of buttons. Input device and method are also critical features of a game for people with mobility issues. Menus and gameplay should both use the same input method to avoid a player who can only use one method, such as keyboard, from being unable to access certain parts of the game. Similarly, allowing for different input devices makes it so that players can use the device most accessible for them.

Your game can be also modified to give users options for motor-related gameplay. For example, speed and cool-down periods can be adjustable and repeated inputs can be cut down to a minimum.

These are just some of the many ways that game developers can make their games inclusive for all players. For a more comprehensive look at accessibility features, check out these game accessibility guidelines.

Game Accessibility Milestones

Now, let’s take a look at how game accessibility has changed over the years and some of the milestones, from the first hands-free controller to games with built-in sign language.

  • In 1989, Nintendo officially released the first hands free controller. It was created for the NES and had the player use their mouth to control a stick while blowing into a tube to control buttons. This was a big step forward for mainstream accessibility products in the gaming industry.
  • In 2009, button mapping was included for the PlayStation OS version 3.1, making it “the first example of consoles adding accessibility features at the OS level.”
  • In 2010, the passage of the Video Communications Act (VCA) laid out some accessibility regulations specific to gaming rather than other entertainment spheres. Though this was a step in the right direction, the guidelines were limited and not implemented widely.
  • In 2018, the game Celeste implemented an assist mode that allowed players to “adjust speed, become invincible, and skip levels entirely.” This was a significant addition for disabled gamers.
  • In 2018, the VR game, Moss, was released. Its main character, a mouse named Quill, can use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with players.
  • In 2020, The Last of Us Part II released to much anticipation. What spurred even more excitement was the game’s 60 plus accessibility settings. These features accommodate different visual, motor, and auditory needs. Some notable settings include vibration cues, high-contrast display, navigation assistance, and alternate controls.
  • In 2022, Forza Horizon 5 launched a free update which included American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) signing done by Deaf actors for cutscenes.

For disabled gamers, game developers, and others looking to keep up with the latest game accessibility news check out Can I Play That?

Paving the Way Forward

These milestones are just a few examples of the progress the gaming industry has made over the years. Strides are still being made from additions to existing accessible controllers to musical video games that incorporate ASL hand shapes into puzzles. With a shift toward built-in accessibility, the gaming world is clearly waking up to gamers’ needs..

What more developers and studios need to do is educate their teams on the subject of accessibility and prioritize it in their workflow. Consult directly with members of the communities you’re building the games for. If the enthusiastic response to games like The Last of Us Part II and Celeste tells us one thing, it’s this: Investing in your users is not an option, it’s a necessity. One that will take the gaming world far in the future.