Electronic Arts announced that it would make five of its proprietary accessibility tools free to use by other game developers. In recent years, EA (and the wider gaming industry) have made strides to make games more accessible to players with disabilities.
Four of these tools are part of EA’s Positive Play Patent Pledge that launched in August 2021. With these new additions, EA has open-sourced a total of 15 patented accessibility tools through this initiative.
“Our patent pledge was created on the principle that everyone, no matter their background, should be able to enjoy video games,” said Kerry Hopkins, SVP of global affairs at EA. “We want to enable developers across the community to break down barriers to participation, create safer, more inclusive, more accessible, and ultimately more fun experiences for players worldwide.”
Alongside its Patent Pledge, the company also launched the Electronic Arts Accessibility Portal. Players can find game-specific information on accessibility features, voice concerns and suggest improvements.
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All four of EA’s new patented tools use some AI technology to support players with disabilities.
The Automated Player Control Takeover detects when a player disengaged from a game and converts their character into a bot. EA uses historical player data to make their now system-controlled resemble the player’s gameplay style. This feature makes games more accessible to players with disabilities that may not be able to interact with the game temporarily.
Next, the Adaptive Gaming Tutorial System lets games give players personalized in-game guidance based on their skill or play style. This technology uses historical data from both the user and other players to determine what commands it recommends to players. This lets developers reduce specific in-game barriers for players with disabilities.
Similarly, EA’s Animated and Personalized Coach for Video Games allows developers to give players a personalized in-game coach. These coaches give players tailored insights to improve their skills, which enhances their gaming experience.
The final patent is for EA’s Route Navigation System that was initially implemented in Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. The tool makes it easier for players with cognitive or visual disabilities to navigate complex game environments. The system generates several route options based on aggregated player data and displays guiding lines to direct players
Finally, EA has also make its IRIS photosensitivity test available to all developers. IRIS simplifies the process detecting flashing lights or rapidly changing spatial patterns that could trigger photosensitivity issues early in the development pipeline. EA already uses IRIS for select content in some of its EA Sports games, like EA Sports Madden 24 and EA Sports FC 24. The company plans to expand IRIS’ use across its portfolio of games.
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