Steam Adds Accessibility Tags to Help Disabled Gamers Find Inclusive Games

Steam is adding new accessibility tags to help disabled players find games that meet their specific needs. This new feature will allow developers to indicate how their games support accessibility through a detailed questionnaire.

The popular gaming platform has updated its Steamworks system with a questionnaire for game developers to describe their accessibility features.

According to Valve, developers can now document various support options such as adjustable difficulty settings, text size options, color alternatives, high contrast modes, speech-to-text capabilities, and custom volume controls.

Game creators can access this new questionnaire in the "edit store" section for each of their games in Steamworks. This detailed information will help players with disabilities understand which games offer the specific features they need.

Valve plans to expand this initiative later in the year by enabling users to search specifically for games with certain accessibility features.

The company will also add accessibility information to the sidebar on store pages, making these details more visible to potential buyers.

"We've been working to gather valuable feedback from developers as well as gamers with disabilities to bring what we hope is a more positive experience on Steam for everyone by making it easier to find games that support Accessibility features," Valve explained in their announcement.

The company emphasized that guiding developers through sharing this information is just the first step in their accessibility efforts.

However, industry experts have noted that Steam's accessibility tags differ from those created by the ESA's Accessibility Games Initiative. Blind gamer and consultant Steve Saylor pointed out this difference "could be confusing down the road" for users navigating between different platforms and tag systems.

The accessibility tag system represents a positive step forward in making gaming more inclusive for all players, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.