Xbox celebrates the disabled community
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We are honored to celebrate our extraordinary disability community. We join you as part of this community and have dedicated our careers to the pursuit of making games accessible and fun for everyone. Having deeply invested our focus on making games on all platforms as inclusive as possible, we believe it all starts with education and connection. As members of the disability community, we prioritize internal education within Xbox and Microsoft to create clarity on what a commitment to the disability community really means for each team member. We bring in expert teachers and speakers to help the team better understand why this work is so crucial to the community that depends on it. Examples of these educational opportunities include an introductory deaf culture workshop and courses that teach American Sign Language (ASL), to name a few. We have seen the impact of this type of internal education, offering practical advice on how to become better allies for our colleagues in the workplace who have disabilities, visible and unseen.
Education is the root of all understanding and is tied to our ambition to make games at Microsoft a truly welcoming and joyful place to work for people with disabilities. We are committed to attracting and hiring more people from the disability community. Not only do they bring the right skills, but they also provide lived experiences that help us create the most inclusive environment for our players. Another fundamental part of our work is creating safe spaces where people can feel free to be authentic, they can come as they are and be with other people who not only feel empathy, but who understand. We have organized game nights, movie nights, and coffee talks to help bring everyone together for support and friendship. These connections are crucial, especially after last year when many felt isolated.
Our focus on these areas of education and connection translates into positive changes to our products and how external audiences interact with Xbox. We continually return to our guiding principle: If you don’t include intentionally, you exclude unintentionally. It is with this focus that we continue our work to bring connection and joy to the disabled community and to all players.
Join Xbox and Microsoft Gaming as we celebrate and support the disability community. Here are some of the ways we will celebrate and raise awareness throughout the month of October and beyond.
Give
A Special Rematch: Gaming and weird games clash on the soccer field to benefit the SpecialEffect Special Day event!
Teams at Xbox Game Studios, Rare, and Playground Games are all set to play One Special Rematch on October 1, battling on the field to be the most skilled soccer studio on Xbox Game Studios, all in the name of charity! The event benefits SpecialEffect, a UK-based charity that uses video games and technology to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities around the world. The Xbox community can support Special effect and them A special day campaign through Microsoft Rewards on Xbox starting October 1 (US), then available in the UK in mid-October.
Watch the video above About SpecialEffect to learn more about the incredible work they do for players with disabilities. Support Rare and Playground Games with the One Special Day fundraiser and make a donation to SpecialEffect today!
Join in the fun and watch the game broadcast on October 1 at 6:00 pm BST on twitch.tv/xbox. Learn more about the event here on Xbox Wire.
Microsoft rewards on Xbox
Microsoft Rewards members in the United States can donate reward points to organizations that support the disability community through Xbox.
- Special effect – Based in the UK charity that uses video games and technology to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities worldwide. The Xbox community can donate their reward points to support SpecialEffect’s A special day campaign!
- The AbleGamers Foundation – An organization that creates opportunities that allow play to combat social isolation, foster inclusive communities and improve the quality of life of people with disabilities.
- Committed fighter – An organization whose mission is to improve the lives of seriously injured and disabled combatants with custom-tailored video game controllers, recreational items, and other solutions to provide greater independence.
Xbox players can earn Microsoft Rewards points in a number of ways, such as playing or purchasing games after downloading the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox. Earn points and exchange them for real rewards. Join today and donate via Xbox.
To find out
Xbox Accessibility Showcase
As part of Xbox’s celebration of the gaming and disability community, on October 1, Xbox will present the Xbox Accessibility Showcase Video. The experience will begin with a video highlighting the work Xbox has done, in partnership with the community, to make games accessible and fun for everyone. The video will highlight some of the most impactful accessibility work done to date, incredible stories from the community, announce a host of new accessibility features coming to Xbox gamers, and showcase the team’s future accessibility plans. The program will demonstrate Xbox’s continued dedication to accessibility, continually evolving and working with the gaming and disability community to improve inclusiveness of its products and services to welcome all gamers. Check out the video here. Learn more about the new accessibility features and updates announced on the Xbox Accessibility Showcase here.
Minecraft: Education Edition Introduces Microsoft’s Neurodiversity Recruitment Program
The Minecraft Education team collaborated with Microsoft’s Inclusive Recruitment team to develop a case study video about a neurodiversity recruitment program at Microsoft that uses Minecraft: Educational Edition. This video shares that story and how group participation in a custom Minecraft challenge set presents an opportunity for neurodivergent candidates to display valuable skills in competency areas such as teamwork, creative problem solving, leadership, and communication. . Along with NDEAM 2021 (National Disability Employment Awareness Month) and to celebrate the Minecraft Disabilities Community, we share this video with a playbook, available to all organizations, to encourage widespread adoption of inclusive hiring processes for neurodivergent candidates. This will be included in a speak at the GA conference, during Xbox Accessibility Time in October, and as a Article about him Minecraft: Education Edition website.
Check out the Gaming Accessibility Conference 2021 (GaConf)
Microsoft is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the Gaming Accessibility Conference (GaConf) 2021, a free online public conference dedicated to making games accessible and raising the voices of gamers and developers with disabilities. The conference includes a session on the Minecraft Inclusive Recruitment Program and accessibility in horror games.
Xbox plays World Sight Day with Honors on October 14
On Thursday, October 14 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PT, in recognition of World Sight Day, Xbox Plays to host a stream with creator SightlessKombat, who will play The Vale: Shadow of the Crown, an audio-only game that is aimed at gamers who are blind and with low vision. Xbox Plays will also feature Streamer Takeovers for Disability Awareness the week of October 18-22. Join the fun at https://www.twitch.tv/Xbox!
Play
Microsoft Casual Games celebrates gaming accessibility
By making games more available and accessible, gamers around the world can enjoy free game experiences. Through Frequent questions, Social Media Posts, and In-Game Messaging – Players will discover how to enable high contrast mode, activate audio narration, use keyboard navigation, and interact with content and visual assistance features in Microsoft Casual Games. Learn more here. Join the fun with Microsoft Casual Games!
Sea of Thieves Continue to focus on accessibility for players
Since its launch, more than 52% of Sea of Thieves updates have included accessibility features or enhancements; more recently, these updates have enabled features such as single joystick play and narrated gestures. Learn more about Sea of Thieves’ commitment to accessibility here.
Xbox Community Game Club presents games with Accessibility features
the Xbox Community Games Club is a weekly way to play, share and discuss games together as a community. During the month of October, we will introduce games that have different accessibility features. Join the fun at the Xbox Community Game Club Home Page!
Play. Connect. Impact: Learn more about Microsoft and Xbox’s ongoing commitment to accessibility in games here.
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