Sony has announced it will be rolling out Accessibility Tags on the PlayStation Store on the PS5 this week.
The company explained in the latest PlayStation Blog post that Accessibility Tags give game developers a chance to tell all PS5 players what accessibility features are supported in their games as they browse through each game hub on the PS Store. There are 50 Accessibility Tags across six categories — Visual, Audio, Subtitle and caption, Control, Gameplay, and Online communication — that devs can choose to add to their games, depending on what players need.
Discover games with accessible features that suit your gameplay needs. Accessibility Tags roll out this week on PS Store for PS5. Full details: https://t.co/iZpCipXGQe pic.twitter.com/qF2fuTxLLf
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) April 3, 2023
For example, the Accessibility Tags under the Visual category include clear text, large text, color alternatives, audio cues, and directional audio indicators. The tags under Controls include button remapping, thumbstick sensitivity, and the ability to play without button holds, rapid button presses, or motion controls. The Online communications category has only two tags: text or voice chat transcription and ping communication.
The Accessibility Tags will be shown on various game pages for PS5 and PS4 games at launch. Some of the notable games include:
- God of War: Ragnarok
- God of War (2018)
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut
- Death Stranding: Director’s Cut
- Days Gone
- Returnal
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
Some games are playable on the PS5 and PS4, but the tags that are available in the PS5 version may not be featured in the PS4 version. The PS5 version of Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s has 30 tags, while the PS4 version has 29.
The Accessibility Tags feature is part of Sony’s efforts to make gaming accessible for players with disabilities. Back in January, it announced an accessibility controller kit codenamed Project Leonardo, which allows players with limited motor control to map buttons to any supported function or map two functions to the same button so that they can play comfortably for longer periods of time.
The controller kit can be used on its own, or paired with another Project Leonardo controller or DualSense controller.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.