Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play game heading to both mobile devices and PC through an open beta tomorrow that has recently shared a bunch of accessibility information. The official blog post from Activision Blizzard details that this is only the “first round of accessibility features” and that the team has focused on “control and chat features.”
Control Features
The post runs through what players can expect to see at launch. First up is that Diablo Immortal should detect a player’s controller whether they’re playing on iOS, Android, or PC. The buttons can also be remapped for a number of functions such as accessing chat and activating skills.
There’s also a free cursor bind that can be remapped. Players using a controller will be able to use the free cursor to “navigate non-gameplay interfaces.” For those on mobile, there will be an option to adjust the positioning of skill buttons.
Chat Features
Diablo Immortal also has a number of accessibility features for the in-game chat system. Players can adjust the size of the chat text by up to 200% with three size profiles to choose from.
As previewed in the Diablo Immortal voice chat transcription video below, players will be able to make use of voice chat transcription. This will transcribe an active voice chat party into written text that will be displayed in the chat window.
In addition, a text-to-speech feature is available and will read out incoming text chat messages using a synthetic voice. A number of features are available such as choosing what chat channels are read out, having audio alerts to separate messages from one another, narrating the player’s own messages, choosing from two voice packs, setting the speech and volume of narration, and chat commands.
There is also a speech-to-text feature that can be enabled by the player and allows their spoken words to be transcribed into written text. This can then be reviewed before sending the message off to the chat window. There are also a number of audio cues available to notify players of specific social events such as messages being received, invites to parties or raids, and more.
Graphic Controls
This may seem like a feature that should go without saying, but it’s nice to see regardless. Given the darkness of the Diablo games, a brightness slider will be available for players to adjust. Activision Blizzard states that it plans to implement additional visual accessibility options for higher contrast and color blindness.
The Future of Diablo Immortal Accessibility
The post ends with a statement that the teams plan to continue expanding on its accessibility options available in the game. Feedback from players in the community will continue to be taken on board as well as direct communications with disabled players. It’s also noted that those interested can join upcoming playtests and studies through the Blizzard Research website.
Just last year Diablo 2: Resurrected launched with a number of the features listed above such as remapping and improving and adding features due to listening to player feedback in the technical alpha.
