Microsoft is continuing its commitment to accessibility and inclusivity with the release of Forza Horizon 5 next week (or through Early Access tomorrow).
As Xbox Wire reports, Mike Brown, Playground Games’ creative director for Forza Horizon 5, detailed the new accessibility features that will be available in the game. They allows players to “be able to tailor their gameplay in a way that works best for them.”
Many of the features are centered around allowing players to have an easier time accessing different types of information presented in the game. This includes providing subtitle customizations, color blindness and high-contrast modes, text-to-speech and speech-to-text options for in-game chat, adjustable font sizes in the menus and game, the ability to change how long notifications appear, as well as a screen narrator option.
There are also tools to make the gameplay more accessible. Players will be able to customize the game's controls to better suit their abilities, and Forza Horizon 5 will let players run the game at a reduced speed while playing offline. And although not available at launch, Forza Horizon 5’s cinematics will get American Sign Language and British Sign Language support in the future with a picture-in-picture display showing an interpreter.
Some of these features may have been available or become available in the game regardless, as recent accessibility efforts by Microsoft included a platform-wide color filter setting for color blindness and global text-to-speed and speech-to-text options.