Global Accessibility Awareness Day is event that takes place on the third Thursday of every May, with the goal of raising awareness about digital accessibility. For many years now the games industry has been embracing it.
In 2026 this has continued again. Some of the efforts are not public knowledge, companies holding private internal initiatives, individuals sending emails around their teams, and so on. But many are public knowledge.
If you’d like to get involved but haven’t planned anything, it’s not too late! Even just sharing your favourite talk or article with your followers or colleagues makes a difference. Here are two great links to share:
Playlist of GAconf talks by disabled people talking about their lived experience
Free game accessibility training, an online course developed by Microsoft
As the day goes on I’ll be updating this page and trying to keep track of as much as I can, but there will be some that I have missed. Drop me a line on twitter, bluesky or linkedin if you know of anything that isn’t on here yet!
AbleToPlay
Launch of Headspace, a new category dedicated to mental health support in games, in partnership with Safe In Our World:
https://abletoplay.com/blog/abletoplay-partners-with-safe-in-our-world
Apple
Announcement of PlayStation Access Controller compatibility for iOS, iPadOS and macOS:
https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2026/05/apple-unveils-new-accessibility-features-and-updates-with-apple-intelligence/
Barrie Ellis
Emulation of a one button audio game played by blind people in the 1980s, Hi-Lo for the BBC Micro:
https://x.com/access_museum/status/2057464030671880274
A very brief history of Soundbeam:
https://switchgaming.blogspot.com/2026/05/soundbeam-very-brief-history.html
Video demo of how to control a PS5 using only one stick and one button:
https://x.com/access_museum/status/2057463550755443052
Cameron Keywood
Publicly available introduction to accessibility presentation:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cameronkeywood_global-accessibility-awareness-day-presentation-ugcPost-7463200478357569537-tku5
Canadian Game Awards
Announcement of the winner of the inaugural ‘best in game accessibility’ category, Assassins Creed: Shadows:
https://screenrant.com/2026-canadian-game-awards-winners/
Can I Play That?
Barrier Breaker award winner announced – Compulsion Games, for South of Midnight’s guiding strand:
https://caniplaythat.com/2026/05/21/barrier-breaker-2025-compulsion-games/
Diamond Award winner announced – Doom: The Dark Ages:
https://caniplaythat.com/2026/05/21/abilitypoints-diamond-award-2025-doom-the-dark-ages/
Cari Watterton
Collection of some of her favourite game accessibility resources:
https://bsky.app/profile/cariwatterton.bsky.social/post/3mme4j5izgk23
Cephable
Live Black Ops 7 gameplay at the Microsoft Inclusive Tech Lab + online, with keynote from CEO Alex Dunn, and Richard Jacobs of the Quad Gods:
https://x.com/Cephable/status/2056747159538565445
Open source Unity plugin
https://github.com/Cephable/Cephable-Unity-Plugin
Developer portal
https://developers.cephable.com/
Open source custom virtual controller
https://controller.cephable.com/
Chat Bouton
Launch of a 6 episode podcast series exploring the people and games behind the Games for Blind Gamers 5 jam:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/chad-bouton-1655252b0_unsyted-radio-special-games-for-blind-gamers-activity-7463176856939184128-uo9t
Showcasing two games from the Blind Gamers 5 jam that are progressing towards full release:
https://x.com/UnsytedParasyte/status/2057486002147532875
Daniel Devasa
Limited-time achievement for playing a round of RetroRapid! with VoiceOver enabled:
https://bsky.app/profile/dadederk.bsky.social/post/3mm56spz2rs27
DOJO System
Unveiling of Coloratura, narrative experience of music and puzzles designed to be played without relying on sight:
https://x.com/DojoSystem/status/2057454023104499960
Easy Surf and Games Accessibility Hub
Live discussion on building blind accessible games, with Tamara Vandendool, Chad Bouton, and Ericbomb:
https://www.linkedin.com/events/7461885523104550912/
Public sharing of accessibility review & playtest for Necromancer Nonsense:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/ugcPost-7460629612553818112-DdVO/
Forbes
Unveiling of the 2026 Accessibility 200, a list of 200 companies who are movers and shakers in the accessibility world. This year it is recognising and honouring companies in the games industry for the first time – EA and Ubisoft:
https://www.forbes.com/lists/accessibility/
Ian Hamilton
The 9th annual GAAD game accessibility trivia quiz:
https://forms.gle/imfZQaauMZdV8ptHA
IllegallySighted
Let’s play of An Unplayable Game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpUc51mPO1I
Jozef Kulik
Writeup on accessibility for mental health, particularly depression:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jozefkulik_accessibility-gaad-gamedesign-activity-7463287383212363778-uKxp
Keywords Studios
Three questions about audio description, with Jennissary:
https://x.com/KeywordsStudios/status/2057357615156339175
Article by Athena-Maria Enderstein and Améliane F. Chiasson on why accessibility is not one-size-fits-all, why last-minute fixes often fall short, and why concepts like the curb cut effect, the Purple Pound and the European Accessibility Act deserve more attention.
https://www.keywordsstudios.com/en/about-us/news-events/news/accessibility-is-not-one-size-fits-all-and-thats-exactly-why-it-matters/
Klemens Strasser
Art of Fauna upgraded with better large type support:
https://x.com/klemensstrasser/status/2057505775287710099
Many Cats Studios
Launch of Underdogs – highlighting underappreciated accessibility efforts, and the Many Cats Twitch channel:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/today-is-global-accessibility-awareness-day-share-7463155323139448832-VEFI
Owlchemy Labs
Article on extend accessibility beyond games themselves into expo booths and web / social media content:
https://owlchemylabs.com/blog/accessibility-awareness-day-owlchemy-labs-2026
PlayStation
Announcement of the Accessibility Community Council:
https://sonyinteractive.com/en/news/blog/playstation-studios-accessibility-community-council/
Ross Minor
Launch of the Accessible Gaming Wiki:
https://mastodon.social/@RossMinor/116609432643608089
Safe In Our World
Interview and playtest with the founders of Thumb Soldiers:
https://safeinourworld.org/news/safe-in-our-world-ambassadors-try-out-modular-gaming-hardware-for-global-accessibility-awareness-day/
SightlessKombat
Showcase video of how GOW:Ragnarok gameplay works for totally blind players:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMX1y03FXAQ
SpecialEffect
Rodney’s gaming story clip:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/globalaccessibilityawarenessday-ugcPost-7463212145288269824-VW5Q
Steve Saylor
Launch of Where’s My Glasses?, a tabletop game that shows, through gameplay, what it can be like to navigate the world without glasses.
https://www.dungeonsanddisableds.com/glasses
Synty Studios
Free wheelchair pack for Unity, Unreal and Godot:
https://bsky.app/profile/synty.bsky.social/post/3mmd7rht3ve2y
Tencent
Showcase of student game jam and Play Without Barriers Principles Framework:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tencent-europe_gaad-accessibility-inclusivedesign-activity-7463173373443903488-vpRC
Ubisoft
Launch of Accessible Games Initiative tags for the Ubisoft storefront:
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/news/ignt.60619/ubisoft-launches-accessible-games-initiative-tags-for-global-accessibility-awareness-day
Victor Dima
Lego Batman accessibility deep dive:
https://victordima.net/accessibility-review-lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight/
Xbox
Reveal of updated thumbstick toppers, including a new design, improved accessible gaming page on xbox.com, showcase of recent games, and sharing research in gaming’s impact on players who are blind or partially sighted:
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/05/21/xbox-global-accessibility-awareness-day-2026/
Updated toppers info page, including video guide to getting started with them
https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com/en-gb/accessories/adaptive-thumbstick-toppers-for-xbox-controllers
And a quote to finish on –
“Accessibility was never about “a small audience.” It was always about people.”
– Tarja Porkka-Konturri
