The second annual Video Game Accessibility Awards have arrived and they have honored the games that have gone above and beyond to push forward the bar of accessibility by making their games available to so many more.
The winners were announced in a livestream hosted by Accessibility Awards co-creators Steven Spohn and Alanah Pearce. IGN alum Alanah Pearce is a writer at Sony Santa Monica and Steven Spohn is a Senior Director at AbleGamers, and the awards show was founded in partnership with AbleGames to highlight these games doing incredible work in the field of accessibility.
The judging panel is made up entirely of disabled gamers and the categories are based on accessibility guidelines that AbleGamers created as tools for game developers.
There were nine categories in total, and Halo Infinite led the way with two victories in Clear Text and Training Grounds. Guardians of the Galaxy, Before Your Eyes, Forza Horizon 5, Far Cry 6, It Takes Two, Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, and Life Is Strange: True Colors also took home awards.
The full list of winners and nominees for the 2021 Video Game Accessibility Awards are as follows;
Second Channel – For games that give players a second means or interface to get the information they may need to progress.
- Before Your Eyes – GoodbyeWorld Games, Skybound Games
- Unpacking – Witch Beam, Humble Bundle
- Guardians of the Galaxy – Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix – WINNER
Clear Text – For games that allow players to reliably read text in the game or its interfaces.
- Boyfriend Dungeon – Kitfox Games
- Loop Hero – Four Quarters, Devolver Digital
- Halo Infinite – 343 Industries, Xbox Game Studios – WINNER
Input Reduction – For games that allow players to decrease the amount of input reduction needed to successfully undertake a sequence of actions required by the game.
- Before Your Eyes – GoodbyeWorld Games, Skybound Games – WINNER
- Fights in Tight Spaces – Ground Shatter, Mode 7 Games
- Escape From Tarkov – Battlestate Games
AI Assistance – For games that allow players to progress through challenges with assistance from in-game AI.
- Forza Horizon 5 – Playground Games, Xbox Game Studios – WINNER
- Far Cry 6 – Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft
- Psychonauts 2 – Double Fine, Xbox Game Studios
Improved Precision – For games that allow players to increase or decrease things like movement sensitivity so that they may be precise with their actions in the game or its interfaces.
- Chivalry 2 – Torn Banner Studios, Tripwire Interactive
- Far Cry 6 – Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft – WINNER
- Back 4 Blood – Turtle Rock Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment