THE CRUNCH
Nintendo, Xbox, Ubisoft, EA, Riot Games and Google have adopted the tagging system created by the Accessible Games Initiative, a project led by the Entertainment Software Association that aims to make it clearer which games offer specific accessibility features. The companies have added the tags to their product pages, digital storefronts, accessibility pages or digital catalogues.
There are 25 tags in total, split into auditory, gameplay, input and visual features. A game might be tagged for large and clear subtitles, text-to-speech, an option to avoid button-mashing, touch-only controls, selectable difficulty levels or mono audio, among other features.
Each company is implementing the tags in its own way. Nintendo lists them in the About this Item section on game pages, with a filterable list of tagged games. Xbox has an Accessibility in Games page with dropdown filters, Ubisoft has tagged 80 of its games, EA shows tags on the EA app and website, Riot Games has a page explaining features per game, and Google's YouTube Playables displays tags under Game Info.
Adoption is voluntary, and the tags can sit alongside other accessibility labelling systems a company may already use. "As more companies adopt the Accessible Games Initiative tags, we are providing a shared language that makes accessibility features easier to recognize and games easier to discover," said initiative executive director Daniella Decker.