Forza Horizon 5 to add sign language support
Playground Games are committed to diversity.
Sign language support will soon be coming to Forza Horizon 5, alongside the developer's commitment to diversity.
In an Xbox Wire blog post, Mike Brown, Creative Director of Forza Horizon 5 developer Playground Games, details the accessibility options present in the game. That includes game speed modifications, a colour blindness mode, subtitle options, and text-to-speech options for voice chat among others.
"We want everyone in the world to be able to experience our game, and with more than an estimated 400 million gamers with disabilities across the globe, it is vital that all players be able to tailor their gameplay in a way that works best for them," says Brown.
"Many of the accessibility features found in the game were created in partnership with players from the Gaming & Disability community, many of whom shared their experiences and the barriers they faced in gaming with us."
Sign language support - both British and American - will be added in a forthcoming update "shortly after launch".
"These are just some of the accessibility features we're building upon, and we're constantly listening to the community to make Forza Horizon 5 an inclusive experience for everyone to enjoy," says Brown.
"With this in mind, the team is excited to share we are also working on American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) support for cinematics in Forza Horizon 5. Coming soon, this feature will include a picture-in picture display near the bottom of the screen of an ASL/BSL interpreter during the cinematics in the game."
A video in the post, embedded above, details more of the accessibility options.
These come alongside a character creator that champions diversity. Players are able to choose pronoun options - he/him, she/her, they/them - which reflects how the game's radio stations refer to them.
The creator itself then has a wide range of faces available for different ethnicities and gender, as well as the option to give your driver prosthetic limbs.
Xbox is ramping up its commitment to diversity and inclusion. These additions to Forza Horizon 5 are a prime example that the rest of the industry would do well to follow.