And here they are! It’s our pleasure to announce the winners of the Can I Play That? Accessibility Awards 2021 with our new Susan Banks Advocacy Award sponsored by Ubisoft. The last few weeks have been filled with behind-the-scenes conversations and organization, before shifting to voting from our panel of judges and also the public voting by you. All to have your say on what games, studios, and individuals have done great work with accessibility in the last year.
It’s been a bit of a wild ride as well as this year kind of started off, a bit dire to say the least, but things rapidly increased throughout the year. In the last few months, we’ve seen so many games launch with accessibility, we’ve seen individuals achieving so much, and it’s been wonderful to see during the bleakness of the world over the last 2 years.
So, it is without further ado that we announce the winners of the Can I Play That? Accessibility Awards 2021, and this year we’re doing it differently. We’ve announced the winners live on a YouTube Premiere stream and tweeting out the winners in tow. And you’ll be able to find that video below. So let’s get to it!
AAA excellence
Accessibility in a game made on big budget / by a big team
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix)
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games)
WINNER: Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games)
Indie excellence
Accessibility in a game made on a small budget / by a small team
- Chicory (Greg Lobanov)
- Unpacking (Witch Beam)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel)
WINNER: The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel)
Best Deaf/HoH accessibility
Accessibility for gamers who are Deaf or hard of hearing
- Far Cry 6 (Ubisoft)
- Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix)
- Back 4 Blood (Turtle Rock Studios)
WINNER: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (Square Enix)
Best physical/mobility accessibility
Accessibility for gamers with motor impairment
- Pokemon Unite (The Pokémon Company)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games)
- FIFA 22 (Electronic Arts)
WINNER: Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games)
Best blind/low-vision accessibility
Accessibility for gamers with low/no vision
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games)
- Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel)
WINNER: The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (Falling Squirrel)
Best cognitive accessibility
Accessibility for neurodiversity and cognitive/learning disability
- Chicory (Greg Lobanov)
- Unpacking (Witch Beam)
- Life is Strange: True Colors (Square Enix)
WINNER: Unpacking (Witch Beam)
Best representation
Representation of disabled characters
- Forza Horizon 5: Avatar prosthetic choices
- Halo Infinite: Avatar prosthetic choices, unique to each armor class and with multiple types per limb (via Warfighter Engaged collab)
- Far Cry 6: Chorizo
WINNER: Halo Infinite (343 Industries)
Best journalism
Article about game accessibility
- How Xbox Is Advancing Gaming Accessibility on Its Platforms, And, Hopefully, Throughout the Industry – Grant Stoner
- It’s Not Just Cyberpunk, Video Games Need to Take Epilepsy More Seriously – Patrik Klepek
- The Unwelcome State for Disabled Gamers of Color – Tubi Hamid
WINNER: How Xbox Is Advancing Gaming Accessibility on Its Platforms, And, Hopefully, Throughout the Industry – Grant Stoner
Best academic research
Published academic paper on game accessibility
- Disability and Video Games Journalism: A Discourse Analysis of Accessibility and Gaming Culture (by Sky LaRell Anderson, and Kat Schrier)
- Game Accessibility and Advocacy for Participation of the Japanese Disability Community (by Muneo Kaigo and Sae Okura)
- Grounded Theory of Accessible Game Development (by Jozef Kulik, Jen Beeston, and Paul Cairns)
WINNER: Grounded Theory of Accessible Game Development (by Jozef Kulik, Jen Beeston, and Paul Cairns)
Most improved
Greatest progress through patches, mods, or remakes/remasters
- Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut (Sucker Punch Productions)
- Sea Of Thieves (Rare)
- Hearthstone blind accessibility mod (Guide Dev)
WINNER: Sea Of Thieves (Rare)
Best game accessibility event
Event about game accessibility
WINNER: Game Accessibility Conference (GAConf)
Most accessible gaming event
Gaming event inclusive of the widest audience
WINNER: Xbox/Bethesda showcase
Favorite innovation in accessible tech
New or improved hardware
WINNER: SonicSight
All games should implement this
Most innovative or helpful accessibility consideration, either a feature/option or default design
- Full captions from Marvel’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy
- Game Speed from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Content warnings from Boyfriend Dungeon
WINNER: Game Speed from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
Biggest accessibility surprise
Something impactful that you didn’t see coming
- Extensive Far Cry 6 accessibility information published 5 months before launch
- Upcoming BSL/ASL cutscenes in Forza Horizon 5
- Xbox introducing storefront accessibility tags
WINNER: Xbox introducing storefront accessibility tags
Most dedicated publisher
The publisher making the most significant or most consistent efforts
- Ubisoft
- Xbox Game Studios
- Square Enix
WINNER: Xbox Game Studios
Most dedicated studio
The studio making the most significant or most consistent efforts
- Rare
- Insomniac Games
- Ubisoft Kyiv
WINNER: Insomniac Games
MVP award for most dedicated developer
The individual developer making the most significant or most consistent efforts internally (this can include people working in accessibility roles)
- David Tisserand (Ubisoft)
- Améliane F. Chiasson (Square Enix)
- Tara Voelker (Xbox)
WINNER: Tara Voelker (Xbox)
The Susan Banks Advocacy Award
Susan made a profound difference at a critical time for the industry. This award can be someone either in a development role or not – anyone who is an advocate making a difference across the wider industry
The Susan Banks Advocacy Award is sponsored by Ubisoft
- Morgan Baker
- Ian Hamilton
- Jerome Dupire
WINNER: Morgan Baker
And that about wraps it up for the Can I Play That? Accessibility Awards 2021! A huge thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring the Susan Banks Advocacy Award this year, and thanks to the guest speakers for taking the time to announce the winners. Another thanks goes out to our judges for the awards, who are, as followed: Coty Craven, Ben Bayliss, Grant Stoner, Tara Voelker, Ian Hamilton, Chris Robinson, Kate Sánchez, Steve Saylor, Stacey Rebecca, James Berg, and Thomas Westin.
Additionally, Can I Play That? would like to thank you for continuing to support Can I Play That? should you be a returning reader, and thank you for your support as we continue to do what we do as a small, unpaid team. If you’re new to the site, then we hope that you stick around and find what you’re looking for! Don’t forget that you can support Can I Play That? through Patreon where we’ll be able to use funds to keep the site running and deliver more content.