Leading charity calls for "consistent, enforceable standards" to make games accessible for visually impaired players

RNIB is calling for the games industry to move from scattered accessibility efforts to consistent, enforceable standards for players with sight loss. The charity argues that many games are still effectively inaccessible, and that players are often forced to gamble on a full-price purchase without any reliable way to know whether the game will work for them.

The white paper pushes for accessibility tags and statements on new releases so blind and partially sighted players can make informed decisions before buying. It also asks studios to treat accessibility as part of good design and innovation, not just a compliance checkbox, and to involve disabled gamers earlier in user-centered design so challenge comes from intended mechanics rather than awkward UI or navigation.

For developers, this is less about one specific feature and more about process. RNIB says there’s no industry-wide framework comparable to broadcast regulation, despite some isolated progress on platforms and individual games. That means accessibility remains inconsistent from title to title, which is a problem for teams shipping premium games where discoverability and trust matter.

The broader context is that RNIB has already been working on accessibility in streaming and shortform video, and it launched its Design for Every Game initiative in 2024 to help developers build for players with sight loss. If this gains traction, studios may see more pressure from both players and policymakers to document accessibility up front and to bake it into production rather than leaving it to late-stage polish.