In 2025 accessibility will have moved from being a side quest to be part of the main video game loop – from the operating systems, controllers, and UI layers to the live ops and pipeline layers of how teams develop their titles. And while there are still some teams out there who are treating accessibility as just another thing to “get done” (aka a feature to implement), there is a growing realization among more mature development teams that accessibility is becoming a compliance issue in major markets, a design language across multiple disciplines, and a measureable bar for quality. It’s also being helped with AI tools for game development which are incorporating concepts to make accessible games easier for developers.
Compliance Pressure Is Real & Is Changing Roadmaps
The European Union’s Accessibility Act goes into effect for many products and services on June 28th, 2025. This law brings much-needed teeth to enforcing accessibility within the EU for digital interfaces, commerce, and all of the digital interfaces and commerce flows that surround games. Whether you’re selling hardware accessories, subscription models, or running a storefront associated with your title, you’ll likely fall under the purview of the Act. Even if your game is simply “software,” the most prudent course of action for your studio would be to adhere to well-known guidelines and demonstrate due diligence in your accessibility audits. Your studio should map user journeys against the Act, identify where the gaps are, and document the remediations you’ve made in your release notes. Treat this process as you do security; continuously monitor, log, and communicate with your stakeholders.
WCAG 2.2 Becomes Common Across All Surfaces
While most studios don’t build web sites, a large portion of in-game UI behaves like one – menus, overlays, check-outs, and help center type functionality. WCAG 2.2 was released and introduced several new success criteria related to gaming, including focus appearance, dragging alternatives, and target size. Developers are translating these requirements into reusable engine components and pre-built UI patterns, so that the work of adhering to WCAG 2.2 does not rely on each feature developer remembering how to perform contrast ratio calculations at 1 AM. Develop a design system that includes WCAG 2.2 at the component level, include lightweight unit tests for input focus and hit areas, and Lint UI assets as part of your CI workflow. This will significantly reduce the amount of last minute QA risk and de-risk ports to other platforms including TV, handheld, and cloud based UI.
Hardware Ecosystems Standardizing Around Modular, Low-Force Inputs
There has been significant progress in the hardware space as well. Sony’s Access Controller provided a modular, low force input hub that could be mapped to multiple user profiles. The Logitech Adaptive Kit further extended the concept to enable users to attach buttons and triggers to their chair or desk and use them as an input method. From a designer’s perspective, this provides two practical benefits. First, don’t hide compound gestures. If your primary interaction model relies on a timed click-and-drag gesture, provide an alternate model that uses discrete button presses. Second, expose binding depth. Allow users to bind actions at the action level (not just the device level) and store that binding information server-side so that it persists with the user’s profile.
Screen Readers and Structured UI Events Move from Menus Only to Runtime
Platform guidelines are starting to push developers to push narration beyond the title screen. Microsoft’s Xbox Accessibility Guidelines now emphasize providing narration for dynamic UI states and time-based events (not just static menu labels). This creates a challenge for developers to decouple UI text and state changes from rendering, and to emit semantic events to a narration bus. This allows for consistent screen reader output across inventory, HUD alerts, match lobbies, and seasonal pop-ups. Create a single source of truth for strings and ARIA-like roles in your UI framework, and subscribe your narration service to that stream.
Audio First Design Expands Beyond Description Tracks
Audio is playing a critical role in helping players with low vision navigate through their experience. Forza’s blind driving assist set the bar for audio-only navigation by combining spatialized cues with adjustable verbosity and heavy assists. The pattern to follow is “progressive disclosure” – minimal cues during normal play, more guidance when the player requests it, or when risk increases. This means exposing contextual flags from the gameplay layer, and allowing players to adjust cue density, channel separation, and ducking rules. Keep subtitles enabled by default, provide a way for players to adjust subtitle formatting, and allow players to adjust gain levels for each channel (haptics, voice over, sound effects, music) to create a customized listening experience.
Haptics Become Configurable, Not Prescriptive
Haptics can provide a sense of guidance, reassurance, or overwhelm. In 2025 we see studios shipping haptic presets and advanced panels that allow players to customize haptic settings such as intensity, pattern length, and event mapping. To ensure that haptic settings are not dependent on specific hardware, emit abstract haptic events in code, and map them to controller capabilities at runtime. Include at least three presets: quiet, standard, and informative. Include a test screen to allow players to feel patterns before committing to a preset. This will help prevent fatigue, support players with sensory sensitivities, and will also work well with battery saving firmware features on modern consoles. Geniuscrate Games
