Discover Accessible Gaming Projects That Open Play to Everyone

One of our food bank volunteers uses a wheelchair and has limited movement in one hand. During a quiet afternoon, he mentioned that he had not been able to play most console games for years, because standard controllers needed two fully working hands. Then a charity helped set him up with an adaptive controller, large buttons and a custom layout. "First time in about eight years I've played online with my brother," he said. It was the most excited I had seen him about anything.

That conversation sent me looking into accessible gaming, a field where charities, developers and volunteers are working to make sure disabled people can play. It is one of the most practical, hopeful corners of the giving world, and it is not widely known outside gaming circles. Here is an overview of the projects doing this work and how people can support them.

Why accessible gaming matters

Disabled people make up a large share of the population, and many play or want to play games. For people who are isolated by illness or disability, online games can be an important social connection: a way to spend time with friends and family, join communities and have fun on equal terms.

The barriers are often physical, such as controllers that need fine motor control, but they can also be visual, auditory or cognitive. Small text, colour-dependent information, fast reactions, lack of subtitles and unforgiving difficulty all lock people out.

Charities working on accessible gaming

AbleGamers

AbleGamers is a US-based charity that works to help disabled people play games. It provides adaptive equipment, advises developers on accessibility, and runs programmes to support players directly.

SpecialEffect

SpecialEffect is a UK charity that helps people with physical disabilities play video games, often by creating customised setups using eye-tracking, special switches and modified controllers. Their occupational therapists and specialists work with individuals to find a setup that fits their needs.

Hospital and children's gaming charities

Other charities bring games and consoles to children's hospitals, helping young patients pass long stays and stay connected with friends. Some include accessible setups as part of that work.

What industry has done

Accessibility in games has improved a great deal over the last decade, partly because of pressure and advice from these charities and from disabled players.

• Adaptive hardware. Microsoft released the Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018, a large, flat controller with big buttons and ports for external switches. Sony later released its own Access controller for PlayStation.
• Accessibility menus. Many major games now include extensive options: remapping every button, subtitle size and background, colourblind modes, difficulty adjustments and the ability to skip challenging sections.
• Industry guidelines. Developers increasingly use published accessibility guidelines and consult disabled players during development.

Some games have been widely praised for their accessibility options, offering dozens of settings that let players adjust visual, audio and motor demands.

Many of these features help far more people than they were designed for. Subtitles were added largely for deaf and hard of hearing players, yet surveys by some publishers have found that a large share of all players switch them on. Button remapping helps people with limited hand movement and also players with repetitive strain injuries. Options to slow down or pause timed sections help disabled players and anyone who simply wants a calmer experience. Accessibility advocates often make this point: design for people with the greatest needs, and you usually improve the experience for everyone else as well.

Volunteering in accessible gaming

Not everyone can donate money, but there are other ways to help, especially for people with gaming skills.

1. Charity fundraising streams. Accessible gaming charities are popular partners for charity streams. Our piece on how gaming communities organise fundraisers explains how to run one.
2. Volunteering with local groups. Some regions have local disability gaming groups or clubs that welcome volunteers to help set up equipment or play with members.
3. Making your own community inclusive. If you run a server, guild or club, think about how disabled players experience it. Clear text channels for those who cannot use voice chat, patience with slower players, and flexible rules help a lot.
4. Giving feedback to developers. If a game you love lacks accessibility options, telling the developer can help. Many studios now actively ask for this feedback.

Donating to accessible gaming projects

As with any charity, check before giving. Our editor's guide on how to check a charity before you donate applies here too. A few questions specific to this area:

• Does the charity work directly with disabled people, or mainly on awareness?
• Does it have specialists, such as occupational therapists, involved in its work?
• Does it publish stories or data on how many people it has helped?
• Is it registered in your country, for tax relief where that applies?

Both direct-help charities and advocacy-focused charities have value. Direct help changes individual lives quickly. Advocacy changes how games are made, which affects millions of players over time.

Why this cause appeals to me

I came to accessible gaming from volunteering, not from gaming, and what struck me was how concrete it is. A modest amount of money and expertise can let someone play with their family again. That is a rare thing in the charity world, where results are often slow and hard to see.

It is also a cause where gamers have particular power. Players understand games, can explain what a setup needs, raise money through streams and push developers for better options. That combination of skill and goodwill is valuable. Even something as simple as testing a new game's accessibility menu and posting an honest, specific review helps disabled players decide what to buy, and helps developers see what is missing.

A small change, a big difference

A few weeks after his new setup arrived, our volunteer showed me a screenshot of a match he had won with his brother. Nothing remarkable to most people. To him it meant a regular evening together again, after eight years. If you are looking for a cause where your support makes a visible, personal difference, accessible gaming is worth a look. More on choosing causes is in our Causes section.