Kolo Jones is eagerly awaiting the release of Starfield, Bethesda’s newest open world title. As a fan of the sci-fi genre, Jones wants to explore as many planets as possible, engage in ship combat, and unravel the mysteries between each faction. But currently, her anticipation is met with equal feelings of trepidation. For Jones and other disabled players, Starfield’s lack of accessibility information is causing concerns.
Last year, Bethesda unveiled an official gameplay look at Starfield, and during this year’s Summer Game Fest, Xbox hosted an hour-long Starfield Direct with new footage and developer commentary. While we learned about mechanics like combat, space traversal, and even sandwich storage, noticeably missing from each presentation was any word on accessibility features or design practices. And in both instances, the accessibility community took notice. Speaking with IGN, disabled players question the overall silence regarding Starfield’s accessibility information, the accessibility of previous Bethesda Game Studios titles, and their hopes for Starfield pre-and post-release.
Starfield’s Silence
As a disabled content creator and consultant, Jones understands the importance of giving disabled players as much information as possible before a title launches. For a game as expansive as Starfield, disabled individuals like Jones need to know of available options and designs that will either help or hinder their gameplay. While it’s exciting to see new footage, Jones notes there is a layer of uncertainty behind each demonstration.
“My main hope is that accessibility options are communicated as soon as possible – like yesterday,” Jones said. “It’s the not knowing if I can play and desperately wanting to be excited about this game, which thematically and visually is everything I look for. I’m so excited for this game, but am I allowed to be excited because what if I can’t play it?”
Bethesda Game Studios’ parent company, Xbox, notably held a press tour for extensive accessibility options for the newest Forza Motorsport six months before its planned release date. In contrast, the only accessibility information given for Starfield with just two months to its launch was during Todd Howard’s interview on Kinda Funny’s Xcast, where he confirmed a “Large Font Mode” will be available. The lack of communication is especially notable given Xbox’s strong recent history of promoting and celebrating accessibility and the disabled community. Recently, they shared a post exploring Disability Pride Month, and for the past two years in October, they’ve hosted an accessibility showcase with game and studio information.
Other developers of major blockbuster games have started sharing such information early, too, like Sony Santa Monica Studio revealing accessibility settings for God of War Ragnarök and Ubisoft sharing some of the accessibility settings in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown shortly after its Summer Game Fest demonstration. Currently, Starfield’s decision to not share any information most closely mirrors Nintendo with Tears of the Kingdom. In that instance, disabled players feared they wouldn’t be able to play, and they were ultimately correct. When reached for a comment on this issue, Xbox declined to respond.
For Jones, the lack of information is concerning. Jones’ disabilities, ADHD and Spondyloarthritis, affect the options and designs that she relies on to complete each game. For her ADHD, Jones requires explicit “quest markers,” as well as the capability to replay scenes and remove timed decisions to “register and think about [decisions].” Spondyloarthritis, a condition which causes inflammation in the spine, impacts Jones’ ability to grip controllers. While she needs common physical accessibility settings like toggles for specific actions, removing quick time events, and full controller support, design choices like twin stick movement and simultaneous button presses are detrimental to her needs. And as an avid fan of sci-fi games, she’s worried these designs will be integral to Starfield.
“I’m specifically concerned with Starfield about having to press multiple buttons at the same time,” Jones said. “I find that that often happens with features like flying in a space game, or using a jet pack, where you must use both thumbsticks and multiple shoulder buttons at the same time, which is just so, so tricky for me to do.”
Unfortunately, Jones’ experience with previous Bethesda Game Studios’ titles is limited, and it’s directly related to their overall lack of accessibility. Without an extensive suite of features or inclusive design choices, she’s never felt comfortable trying other games. And she isn’t alone.
Skyrim’s Shortcomings
The accessibility movement that modern gaming is most familiar with – detailed menus and accessible design by default – earnestly began within the past five years. Games like The Last of Us Part II, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and even Tunic are just a small fraction of games that allow disabled individuals to comfortably and confidently play. Even remakes of classics like The Last of Us Part 1 and Resident Evil 4 are modernized to feature accessible options previously unavailable during their original release. And when returning to classics within Bethesda Game Studios’ library, even updated versions, the lack of accessibility is increasingly apparent.
Content creator and accessibility consultant Matthew Allcock grew up playing Bethesda titles. At a young age, he would spend hours exploring the worlds of Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim. But as his disability, Nystagmus – involuntary rapid, repetitive, eye movements – progressed, he struggled to return to his favorites.
“Since the change in my vision and the release of Skyrim’s Xbox Series X/S upgrade I went back and started a new play through and it’s safe to say I struggled,” Allcock said. “Things took me a lot longer to complete due to the accessibility barriers I faced like locating enemies, finding objects required for quests, and navigating the map. I lowered the difficulty to try and counter my accessibility barriers but as an experienced gamer I don’t want to be forced to play the game on the easiest setting. I want the game to be accessible yet challenging at the same time.”
From the previews alone, Starfield’s core mechanics and designs resemble games like Skyrim. Open world games within Bethesda Game Studios’ portfolio include deeply expansive worlds with numerous quests and storylines that help to flesh out each title. Conversations between characters, reading scrolls or books, and activating hidden buttons and levers to unveil secret rooms are necessary and often unavoidable to complete missions. For blind/low vision players like Allcock, proper accessibility options are needed to reduce these inaccessible barriers.
“Bethesda games have massive storylines, with lots of collectibles, lore, and require massive amounts of reading,” he said. “I have found myself prioritizing what I use up my game time doing. I skip reading the lore, the journals, etc., and focus on the essential information put in front of me. Skyrim presented me with a huge list of problems due to its nature. Dark caves, dungeons, and snowy landscapes caused massive difficulties. I struggled locating enemies due to a lack of contrast, and navigating the world was an issue due to the in-menu map design and lack of contrasting waypoints.”
Blind/low vision individuals often need accessibility tools like text-to-speech, audio cues, varying contrast settings, auto-aim, and even auto-traversal to properly enjoy expansive games. Allcock’s accessibility critiques and concerns are not only representative of the blind/low vision community, but they also share similarities with other disabled players.
An Inaccessible Wasteland
Starfield is not Bethesda Game Studios’ first foray into the sci-fi genre. Despite finding success with fantasy titles like Skyrim and Oblivion, the Fallout series is a long-standing fan favorite. And just like Skyrim and Oblivion, Fallout games struggle to adapt to disabled audiences.
Accessibility consultant Poppy Field appreciates the communal aspect of Fallout games. From companions traveling across the ruins of Boston in Fallout 4, to groups of players exploring West Virginia in Fallout 76, co-op is an important accessible design for her. And while Starfield has shown partners that accompany your journeys, Field, like Jones and Allcock, requires so much more.
“I struggle physically with using controls,” Field said. “It can be a painful and exhausting experience to play, especially in combat. But I also [struggle] cognitively with memory and processing issues, requiring more time which I often get penalized for. Fallout isn’t a very forgiving game, outside of limited/no accessibility. There is very little adjustment, it even lacks the typical “easy” mode that although I don’t encourage developers to create as an access fill in, I do rely on it a lot when other needs aren’t meant.”
While Fallout and Elder Scrolls games typically include difficulty settings, they primarily reduce incoming damage from enemies. Other sources of damage like explosions from mines, radiation levels, and even environmental hazards like falling aren’t mitigated through these options. And Field’s disabilities – chronic pain, fibromyalgia, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), as well as migraine and anxiety disorders – means that she needs more accessible designs and features than a difficulty toggle. But since Fallout games fail to meet her needs, she finds other methods that can occasionally restrict her gameplay.
“Workarounds I felt helpful included things like perk cards and attributes,” she said. “I would purposely choose ones that would aid me in certain parts of the games I would find hard, i.e., less radiation damage if I need more time to process an area. However, this takes away the fun of what should be a way to make the game more interesting for players. I instead was using it to somehow lower the playing field as much as I could… Obviously, this would not be needed if accessibility was built into the foundation of the game and not relying on some happen-chance of some features to aid me.”
Perks offer unique playstyles that enhance customization. While more choices are inevitably better for disabled players, forcing them to follow specific attributes to offset inaccessible barriers limits the creativity that the game actively encourages. And until Starfield offers accessibility information, Field and others can only assume the systems will be the same as previous titles.
Starfield’s Future
With approximately two months left until Starfield’s release, disabled players have more questions than answers. While some individuals like Allcock are hopeful that Xbox’s acquisition of the studio opens the game to new accessibility resources, others like accessibility consultant Lorelei Root just want accessibility to be at the forefront, regardless of ownership. As current and future releases continue to innovate with designs and features, Root wants Starfield to pay the same attention to accessibility as many of its AAA peers.
“It’s the same as my hope for all video game developers, that they focus on building an all-around accessible game, as universally accessible as possible, but with the knowledge that many people have different or even conflicting needs when it comes to accessibility,…” Root said. “I really love it when things like ‘difficulty’ are heavily customizable like I’ve seen in some games. The ability to control that type of customization from day to day means that my games can always stay challenging and rewarding no matter what barriers I’m facing with my disability that day.”
Root’s disability, Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS), is progressive, meaning her needs continue to change. Since her disability affects her central nervous system, she’s encountered difficulties with “vision, hearing, mobility, motor function, and some cognitive functions like reading and writing.” For her, if games don’t feature a vast array of customizable options and accessible designs, the inaccessible barriers they include can make any title unplayable, especially during periods of intense symptoms. Equally important to Root is the capability of studios to share accessibility information. Like Jones, Root wants to know if a game will be accessible before purchase.
“One of my biggest concerns right off the bat is motion sickness,” she said. In the trailers I’ve seen, I’ve had to look away at times due to some pretty hefty screen shake in combat and dizziness during space flight combat. A lot of games still don’t offer an option to skip or adjust parts of the game that create motion sickness barriers for players. I also worry about accessibility for people who use screen readers, as text narration options are often not available in games. As someone who uses a screen reader due to cognitive dysfunction, this is always a struggle for me, and it’s so helpful in text-heavy games like this one when they offer text narration.”
Until explicit accessibility details are shared, Root and others are taking a gamble with Bethesda Game Studios’ newest title. Currently, there is no indication aside from larger fonts that this game will be playable for disabled individuals. And if previous games like Skyrim and Fallout are any indication, the accessibility offerings may be slim. When Xbox regularly promotes inclusivity and accessibility, Starfield’s lack of accessible marketing appears counterintuitive to previous promises. But as Field acknowledges, if there is any form of accessibility progress with this game, that’s ultimately a victory for disabled players.
“I don’t expect this title to be a huge step forward in accessibility, but I’m hopeful that this will be a learning curve and future titles will benefit from perhaps what Starfield may likely lack. After all, accessibility is a journey not a destination. As long as we’re not going backwards, I’m happy.”
Grant Stoner is a disabled journalist covering accessibility and the disabled perspective in video games. When not writing, he is usually screaming about Pokémon or his cat, Goomba on Twitter.