ESA Announces Accessible Games Initiative to Provide Product Accessibility Feature Information

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) today announced the Accessible Games Initiative, a new tagging system designed to clearly communicate video game accessibility features to consumers. Unveiled at the Game Developers Conference, this initiative is a collaborative effort spearheaded by Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, and Ubisoft, with subsequent participation from Amazon, Riot Games, Square Enix, and WB Games. The ESA will manage the initiative.

Participating game companies will apply relevant tags from a pre-approved list of 24 to their games. This information will be displayed prominently near game details on digital storefronts and product pages.

The Accessible Games Initiative includes 24 tags that help describe the games we play.

These tags will highlight features such as clear text, large and clear subtitles, narrated menus, stick inversion, save-anywhere functionality, adjustable difficulty levels, and the ability to play without requiring button holds, among others.

“Tens of millions of Americans have disabilities and often face barriers to enjoying the social connection and fun that video games offer,” said Stanley Pierre-Louis, ESA president and CEO. “We’re incredibly proud to launch the Accessible Games Initiative with our industry partners. This demonstrates the positive impact of collaboration in our shared goal of making gaming accessible to more people.”

Tag rollout will be phased, company by company, and participation is voluntary. Initially, tags will be available only in English. The list of tags and their descriptions may evolve over time.

Accessible Games Initiative Tags:

Auditory Features

Tag	Description
Multiple Volume Controls	Separate volume controls are available for music, speech, sound effects, background audio, text-to-speech audio, accessibility audio cues, and voice chat. A single master volume control is also included.
Mono Sound	Plays audio in mono, sending the same audio to all channels.
Stereo Sound	Plays audio in stereo, differentiating sounds based on left/right position. Vertical and depth positioning are not included.
Surround Sound	Plays audio in surround sound, indicating sound direction from all angles.
Narrated Menus	Offers screen reader or voice narration for menus and notifications, allowing navigation item-by-item.
Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech*	Enables real-time text-to-speech and speech-to-text for in-game chat. (This tag includes both auditory and visual features.)

Gameplay Features

Tag	Description
Difficulty Levels	Offers multiple difficulty settings, with descriptions of the differences between each. At least one setting reduces challenge intensity.
Save Anytime	Allows manual saving of progress at any point, except during saving/loading or situations where it could break the game.

Input Features

Tag	Description
Basic Input Remapping	Allows rearranging button controls.
Full Input Remapping	Allows assigning any action to any control, including controller stick functionality swaps, across all supported input methods (keyboard, mouse, controllers, on-screen controllers).
Stick Inversion	Allows inverting the direction of thumbsticks and other directional inputs.
Playable without Button Holds	Playable without holding down digital inputs (buttons/keys), though analog input holds may still be required.
Playable without Rapid Button Presses	Avoids the need for rapid button presses or button mashing, including quick-time events.
Playable with Keyboard Only	Playable using only a keyboard.
Playable with Mouse Only	Playable using only a mouse, including compatible adaptive technology.
Playable with Buttons Only	Playable using only buttons, where pressure doesn't affect controls.
Playable with Touch Only	Playable using only touch controls.
Playable Without Motion Controls	Playable without motion controls.
Playable Without Touch Controls	Playable without touchpads or touchscreens.

Visual Features

Tag	Description
Chat Speech-to-Text & Text-to-Speech*	Enables real-time text-to-speech and speech-to-text for in-game chat. (This tag includes both auditory and visual features.)
Clear Text	Text in menus and settings is appropriately sized, with adjustable contrast and less stylized fonts.
Large Text	Allows for larger font sizes in menus and settings.
Large & Clear Subtitles	Provides subtitles for all dialogue, with adjustable background transparency, ensuring they don't overlap game elements, and using less stylized fonts.
Color Alternatives	Color is not crucial to conveying information, or color adjustments are available.
Camera Comfort	Minimizes or eliminates potentially discomforting camera effects (shaking, swaying, etc.), or allows disabling/adjusting such effects.