Hey, game devs, put your accessibility options front and center like this

Zombie Army 4 Title Source: Windows Cardinal

As much as I dear games and gaming in general, big publishers often seem intent on sucking the life out of my favorite hobby with aggressive monetization, unreasonable deadlines leading to rushed releases, and well, Fortnite (I'k kidding ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶l̶y̶). However, there is at least ONE positive tendency hit more than and more games that I think literally all of us tin get behind. And that is one of improved accessibility.

Put your options front and heart, game devs

The Division Settings Accessibility Source: Windows Cardinal The Division 2 has an impressive array of accessibility features.

I noticed while reviewing Zombie Army iv recently that Rebellion had handily placed its accessibility options forepart and middle in the game's menu, attainable with an instant tap of the X push. Other games have started doing it as well, such every bit Bleeding Edge, which is hitting its closed beta very soon.

It'south a simple gesture, and fifty-fifty if the accessibility options afforded per title aren't equally deep as they could be (or should be), if every programmer started doing this as standard, simply having accessibility in mind at the outset from the main menu could lead to a wave of change that could benefit millions of gamers.

@BleedingEdgeNT and @Xbox showing Accessibility options front and center. It'southward a nifty thing that MS has continued to have a quality standard to accessibility in their games. Something that the rest of the industry need to mirror. Neat for gamers. picture.twitter.com/xr1VlcJ5T1
— chris woelfel (@woelfel) February 11, 2022

I was lucky enough to piece of work with a friend on the Xbox Adaptive Controller, and see for myself how a bit of investment from developers tin lead to a huge heave in usability and comfort for those with disabilities and other ergonomic challenges. Even something equally basic every bit being able to alter the text size in games is something far also few games offering (thanks, Zombie Ground forces four!)

I appreciate that smaller developers might non accept the resources or dev hours to invest in building an entire suite of accessibility features into their games. Thankfully, Microsoft offers a lot of tools for Xbox games at a system level for configuring accessibility features.

Wc3 Customkeys Source: Windows Primal "Small indie company" Activision-Blizzard asks its users to edit a text file to gear up-up custom keybinds.

For bigger publishers, though, the excuses are running thin. Warcraft Iii: Reforged launched without something as basic as the ability to change keybindings, which is often needed for users who take bespoke peripherals and keyboard setups.

Windows thankfully has a lot of third-party options (and some first-party options) to circumvent these kinds of oversights. Still, console games don't have the same access to external software, so much of the heavy lifting has to come up from developers.

A positive wave of change

Gears 5 Accessibility Features Source: Windows KeyGears 5 has great accessibility features, only they're subconscious away and a piddling tough to notice at first.

Having accessibility options is one of the most positive waves of change striking the industry. Every bit more and more developers invest more heavily in these sorts of features, showcasing them front and center will only assist to bring more attending to those with additional needs.

Microsoft's motto for Xbox in recent years has been, "When everybody plays, we all win," and zilch sums upwards the button for inability inclusion more succinctly. Information technology's great to see more developers get with the program, even if there's still a lot more than piece of work to exercise.

Xbox

Master

What is Xbox Game Pass?
Best 4K TVs for Xbox Series X and S
Must-buy Xbox One Headsets
Our Favorite Xbox One Wireless Headsets
All-time Upcoming Xbox Games for 2022
Xbox I Ten vs. Xbox Series S

An internet connection will soon be required when setting up Windows 11 Pro

UH OH

An internet connectedness will soon be required when setting up Windows 11 Pro

Microsoft has announced that afterwards this year, users will exist required to connect to the internet and sign-in with a Microsoft Account during the out of box setup experience on Windows 11 Pro. Microsoft has already been enforcing this requirement on Windows 11 Domicile since launch last October, and Windows xi Pro is at present expected to follow suit before long.

I similar 'em large ... I similar 'em chunky

These are the best gaming mice for folks with large hands

A great gaming mouse is important for anyone looking to get into PC gaming. Even so, if you have large hands, you may struggle to find a mouse that feels comfy for you. Thankfully, there are plenty of plus-sized mouse options on the marketplace.