Five major video game companies, including Nintendo of America and Microsoft, are joining a major new “cross-industry effort” managed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) to share clearer information about the accessibility features in their games.
As part of the “Accessible Games Initiative,” the five “founding members” — Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, and Ubisoft — will initially use a set of 24 tags like “large and clear subtitles” and “narrated menus” to communicate certain accessibility features, according to a press release.
The companies will put the tags on places like their digital storefronts and product pages (which typically already feature information on things like how many players a game supports and age ratings). However, the ESA says the timeline for the implementation of the tags will be “determined on a company-by-company basis and is always voluntary.”
“The timeline for implementation of the tags is company-dependent,” Aubrey Quinn, ESA’s senior vice president for communications, tells The Verge. “While we cannot speak for them about their plans, we know companies are working with the relevant departments across their individual organizations to bring the tags to their consumers.”
The five founding members and Sony Interactive Entertainment “first developed” the initiative. When we asked why Sony isn’t a founding member, Quinn told us to reach out to Sony, which didn’t reply to a request for comment. Amazon Games, Riot Games, Square Enix, and Warner Bros. Games have joined the initiative, too.
The Verge has asked all of the companies involved when they might implement the tags. Here’s what we’ve heard back.
