Make games every player can love, and build a better gaming experience from the start.
Disabilities that make gameplay challenging impact as many as 1 in 5 gamers, and with an aging player base, this. number is increasing daily. Studios who make their games accessible to more players tap into $2.6 trillion in annual spending power and connect with millions of overlooked gamers. Accessibility isn’t good for players—it’s good for business.
Run remote playtests, surveys and interviews with players in their preferred environment (and with specific hardware)
Beyond mobility differences: test with vision- and hearing-impaired players, players with cognitive and neurological disabilities, and players with dyslexia and colorblindness, for example.
Better accessibility means higher retention, fewer support tickets, and more positive reviews, but adding accessible features too late means reduced effectiveness—and increased costs
At early stages we can use a small group of players (e.g. 5-16 players) test things like the menu structure (using something like a figma prototype) with people with disabilities, or prototypes of specific features.
Test a broader area of the experience (e.g. the first 30 minutes) with players with disabilities (e.g. 5-16 players) to get a broader understanding of how they interact with the game and the issues and barriers they encounter.
Ensuring you can deliver accessible games isn't just about access, and studios need to consider how those accessibility features build into broader player experience. Inclusive appreciation testing puts the game in front of a broader audience of players (e.g. mixed disabilities, 20+) to help push beyond access towards delivering great player experiences.