Recently, Microsoft released a blog post detailing the current state of the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines introduced in January 2020. In the post, senior program manager in charge of gaming accessibility Brandon Zahand detailed how the company is engaging the gaming and disability community. He also said that feedback is encouraged to improve the guidelines and video games on the Xbox and PC platforms.

Detailed in the statement is a list of improvements made in the XAG by the Gaming and Accessibility Team and the project's lead, Kaitlyn Jones. The improvements help developers more clearly understand what sorts of standards are expected to be upheld when developing games on Microsoft's platforms. The changes include simplifying the language used in the guidelines to be more intuitive, providing picture/video examples of accessibility features properly implemented, and many others focusing on effective communication and where to start looking for solutions.

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Since the XAG's announcement in 2019 and its implementation in early 2020, Microsoft has gradually ramped up Xbox's accessibility standards to be more in line with its other products. An example of this new focus is the new Microsoft Game Accessibility Testing Service that was recently released.

The program is a collaboration between the Gaming and Accessibility Team and Microsoft's Game Reliability Engineering team. Developers releasing a game for Microsoft's PC or Xbox platforms can send it to Microsoft to test it and see if it meets the XAG's standards. To do this, Microsoft enlists recognized subject matter experts as well as people who have disabilities to help test the game. Where improvements can be made, pictures and videos of problem areas are sent back to developers to be corrected.

By creating a platform where developers can build inclusivity into games from the ground up and allow Microsoft to test and study a developer's game against their accessibility standards, Microsoft has helped foster an inclusive environment on its platforms. This is a great place to look for ways to attract developers to your platform. By making the process as easy as possible for developers, the risk of wasting time and money is reduced. And by making a game as accessible as possible, the developer can ensure a broader audience is available to their game.

It's a type of asymmetrical strategy to attracting a broader demographic that has served Nintendo for several console generations. By creating the Wii Remote, Nintendo helped foster an entirely new community of gamers and game developers under an accessibility umbrella that had not been seen in the market before. Soon Wii's were being sold to adults over the age of 60, individuals far outside of Nintendo's typical demographic because Wii Sports was all the rage at seniors homes.

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These recent changes in accessibility highlight how Microsoft has shifted direction since the end of the previous generation of video game consoles. If the Xbox Adaptive Controller's introduction wasn't a statement about the company's mission to include everyone in its vision, the updated XAG and accessibility gaming testing service solidify this change of course. Xbox is building a brand on making their games accessible to as many gamers as possible, as using multiple avenues to do so.

In an interview with Game Rant, Head of Xbox Cloud Gaming James Gwertzman expressed his belief in inclusivity by allowing all types of gamers to experience games on Xbox, saying, "Every Developer has the same goal, which is to target gamers...Our Xbox team will compete with PlayStation to try and get more gamers to buy our device, but at the same time, when it comes to helping game developers, the goal is to help them reach gamers wherever they are." This sentiment is echoed by the variety of indie games being championed as exclusive games on Xbox.

Microsoft has positioned itself and its gaming platforms in the market as an inclusive juggernaut in 2021, focusing on promoting both the developer and the players in making its games more accessible to a wider audience. Time will tell if it's enough of a statement to compete with the PlayStation 5 and Sony's long list of exclusive properties for its console.

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