Xbox adds new accessibility options with button remapping for Adaptive and Elite Series 2 controllers

Dec. 4 (Portaltic/EP) –

Xbox has added new button remapping options for your Xbox Adaptive and Elite Series 2 controllersa novelty that seeks to improve the experience of players who have a disability, allowing assign joystick movements to buttons or using the controller as the equivalent of a mouse.

Within the framework of International Day of People with Disabilitiesthe video game company has announced some updates in support of its commitment to the gaming community, in order to continue facilitating access to video games for anyone, providing inclusive experiences.

In this sense, Xbox has announced new button remapping options for its controllers Xbox Adaptive and Elite Series 2which allow players change the default function of buttons to better adapt it to your preferences or gaming needs.

Specifically, for those users who have Difficulty holding buttons for a long timethey can use the ‘Toggle holds’ functionwith which you can configure any button or port on the controller to remain “pressed” until you press it again to release it.

Following this line, as the company has shared in a communicated on his blog, Another new accessibility option is the ability to assign the movement of the ‘joystick’ to the buttons.

That is, players will be able to establish the directional movements that are executed with the ‘joysticks’ – up, down, left and right – to the buttons or keyboards. For example, they may carry out the movement of the ‘joystick’ in the ‘up’ direction simply by pressing the ‘B’ button in a traditional command.

In the same way, you can also assign mouse movement commands to the controller’s ‘joystick’. This feature, along with keyboard button mapping, allows players to use their game controller as the equivalent of a mouse and keyboard.

As the company has stressed, this function is useful both for playing video games and for carry out other tasks on the PC. As he exemplified, users could use an Adaptive controller configured with these functions to check their email or watch videos on YouTube.

Finally, Xbox will also allow controls Hat Switches function as the opposite stick when connected to an Adaptive controller. All these new features can be configured from the Xbox Accessories appfor Elite Series 2 and Adaptive controllers.

ACCESSIBILITY IN DIABLO IV AND BLACK OPS 6

In addition to the accessibility news at the hardware level, the company has also made reference to the options that video games allow Diablo IV and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Specifically, Xbox has recalled that, in October, the Diablo IV implemented new functions focused especially for blind or low vision players. These include the automatic pin, which place a pin on the map to show the destination of the mission or task being carried out.

Also implemented was the audio navigation assistancewith which the player receives spatial audio signals to guide him to the point he has placed on the map, and the compassa feature that activates an on-screen element that rotates around the user and points toward the reference point.

For its part, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 also recently announced accessibility options, such as asymmetric hearing compensationthe mode of improved high contrast and an updated accessibility settings menu.

Xbox has also mentioned the launch of the World of Warcraft Reven Packwhich is inspired by a Norwegian player with Duchenne muscular dystrophya progressive neuromuscular disease.

With all this, Xbox has stated that these updates for its controls are intended “remove barriers for even more players” both at the hardware level and in their games. In the case of the video games mentioned, both titles were recently nominated in the category of ‘Innovation in accessibility’ of the Game Awards 2024.