Now in its second year, the Video Game Accessibility Awards have just concluded its award ceremony celebrating games that go the extra mile to help everyone play.
The awards ceremony was held via teleconference livestream on Saturday, with hosts Alanah Pearce of Sony Santa Monica and Steven Spohn of AbleGamers officiating. Meanwhile, awards were presented virtually by content creators like JackSepticEye, DrLupo, GameGrumps, and even a little-known actor called Ryan Reynolds (who didn’t once mention his new Netflix movie, Project Adam).
This year’s awards ceremony included nine categories where games can do better for disabled gamers. Those categories include Ability to Bypass, Clear Text, Input Reduction, Improve Precision, Remapping, Second Channel, Training Grounds, AI Assistance, and Peer Assistance. If the titles aren’t immediately familiar to you, we’ll provide a brief description of the awards along with the winners below.
Ability to Bypass - For games that let you skip sections that can’t be successfully engaged with.
Winner: Life is Strange: True Colors
Clear Text - For games that let you increase text legibility (such as through changing or increasing font size) in menus and subtitles.
Winner: Halo Infinite.
Input Reduction - For games that let you reduce the number of inputs required for successful action, such as a combo in a fighting game.
Winner: Before Your Eyes
Improve Precision - For games that let you fine-tune the sensitivity of inputs, such as aiming or moving.
Winner: Far Cry 6
Remapping - For games that let you remap or reconfigure the controls on various devices.
Winner: Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
Second Channel - For games that provide information to the player in multiple ways, such as both visual and audible indicators for enemy threats.
Winner: Guardians of the Galaxy
Training Grounds - For games that give you a sandbox to learn the controls, systems, and mechanics of a game at your own pace.
Winner: Halo Infinite
AI Assistance - For games that help the player through in-game artificial intelligence.
Winner: Forza Horizon 5
Peer Assistance - For games that let you play with a friend for assistance.
Winner: It Takes Two
A surprise upset for Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, a game praised for its accessibility and nominated for two awards but failed to win either. Meanwhile, Halo Infinite walks away the overall winner with two awards. Congratulations to all the winners, and to Able Gamers for hosting its second successful awards ceremony.