Gaming Gets More Inclusive With The Launch Of The Xbox Adaptive Controller

Gabi Michel, Xbox Adaptive Controller Program Manager, discusses the official launch of the Xbox Adaptive Controller.

Without a doubt, 2018 has been a hallmark year for inclusivity in gaming. From individual platforms and games introducing more features for gamers with accessibility needs to physical hardware like the Xbox Adaptive Controller, there has never before been such a high point for inclusivity in gaming. Available at Microsoft Stores and GameStop Online for $99.99, the first-of-its-kind Xbox Adaptive Controller will be available starting today, so even more gamers from around the world can engage with their friends and favorite gaming content on Xbox One and Windows 10.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller will be available starting today:

Purchase Xbox Adaptive Controller from GameStop

Purchase Xbox Adaptive Controller from Microsoft Store

The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a product that was ideated and pioneered with inclusivity at its heart. We iterated on and refined it through close partnership with gamers with limited mobility and fan feedback, as well as guidance and creativity from accessibility experts, advocates and partners such as The AbleGamers Charity, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Craig Hospital, Special Effect and Warfighter Engaged. Even the accessible packaging the Xbox Adaptive Controller arrives in was an entirely new approach to redefining success in product packaging—directly informed and guided by gamers with limited mobility. It’s truly the collaboration and teamwork from these individuals and groups who helped bring the Xbox Adaptive Controller to gamers around the world. And gaming, everywhere, becomes greater because of that collaborative spirit.

Xbox Adaptive Controller

To the gamers and industry professionals around the world who shared their thoughts, feelings and feedback on either the Xbox Adaptive Controller itself or the accessible packaging it ships in—thank you. From gamers like Mike Luckett, a combat veteran based in the US who tested and shared feedback on the controller through the beta program, to gamers in the UK who kindly invited us into their homes and shared which iteration of the accessible packaging they liked most—this day of launch is a thanks to all your contributions. On behalf of gamers everywhere, we share our sincere thanks.

While the response from communities, gamers and press when we introduced the controller in May was remarkable, the true impact the Xbox Adaptive Controller has had with gamers becomes clearer when attending events like E3 in Los Angeles in June, wearing an “Xbox Adaptive Controller” t-shirt. Walking the show floor to run a simple errand, you become bombarded with smiles, greetings and high-fives—shared by gamers of all types—embracing and furthering the fondness of supporting inclusivity in gaming. It’s a powerful sentiment of appreciation for inclusivity, and we’re humbled by the reception.

Xbox Adaptive Controller

Beyond the humbling praise from the gaming industry, the Xbox Adaptive Controller has been equally recognized for its innovative approach to inclusive design in gaming. In fact, just today it was announced that the V&A, the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance, has acquired the controller as part of its Rapid Response Collecting program, which collects contemporary objects reflecting major moments in recent history that touch the world of design, technology and manufacturing. It’s an honor and achievement we did not set out to accomplish but are nonetheless moved by the recognition of the team’s passionate work invested in the Xbox Adaptive Controller, helping it stand out as a truly first of its kind product—in gaming and beyond.

Let today be a celebration of inclusivity in gaming—regardless of your platform, community or game of choice. Whether you’re a gamer using the Xbox Adaptive Controller for the first time or new to gaming, welcome to the Xbox family! Inclusivity starts with the notion of empowering everyone to have more fun.  That means making our products usable by everyone, to welcome everyone, and to create a safe environment for everyone.

If you’re looking for more information on the Xbox Adaptive Controller, peripherals available today to configure it just for your use, or tips on how to get setup, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about peripherals from our hardware partners such as Logitech, RAM and PDP, used to customize your Xbox Adaptive Controller configuration, here. Visit this page to learn more about using Copilot with the Xbox Adaptive Controller. And here is some general product information to help you learn more about the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Thanks again for joining us on this incredible journey of inclusivity; see you online!

July Xbox Update Rolling Out Today

E3 may be in our rear view like a fall leaf in Forza Horizon 4, but we’ve been busy updating the Xbox experience and adding features that you’ve requested. The July Xbox Update adds features that make finding content even easier and offers a host of improvements to Mixer. Here’s what’s new:

FastStart Enabled for Select Titles

Announced back at E3 2018, FastStart is a new innovation from our Xbox Platform team that allows you to jump into your games twice as fast and play after downloading just a fraction of it. FastStart works by identifying which files are needed to begin playing and prioritizes the download of those files first, enabling you to quickly jump into full-fidelity gameplay while the remainder of your title downloads in the background. Simply find the FastStart-enabled title you want to play in our catalog, hit ‘Download’ and your console will take care of the rest. It’s that simple. What’s more, it’s now enabled for select English language titles in our Xbox Game Pass catalog, and will expand to more games in more languages over time. You can learn more about FastStart here.

Group Your Games and Apps

With so much content available, fans have asked for more options to organize libraries of games and apps.  Today, we’re introducing a powerful new enhancement to Pins, which we call “Groups.” With Groups, you can create multiple collections of content made up of anything from within My Games & Apps. You can also assign custom names to each Group, organize and order them, and add individual Groups to Home. Groups will appear across My Games & Apps, Home and Guide, so you’ll be able to access your Groups at a moment’s notice. Best of all, Groups are tied to your Xbox Live account, so they will automatically sync across multiple Xbox One consoles. We’ve started you off with a Group that should look very familiar — your Pins!

More Search Options

Searching for content is now even easier!  Now pressing the Y button anywhere in the dashboard will bring up the search dialog, allowing you to easily launch your content, sift through Settings, or find products in the Store.  This process is found in many apps, but now you can do it anywhere within the dashboard.  Not seeing enough results for your search? Hit enter or click the “more results” button to view a full page for your search results.

 Mixer Share Controller Improvements

We’ve made it easier to use Share Controller on the web. First, we’ve enabled full mouse and keyboard support for PC users, along with Share Controller Key Bindings.

Second, we’ve added multi-touch support for touch-enabled devices. This allows multiple controls to be used at the same time! For example, you can control the joystick and press A at the same time on your touch laptop.

And lastly, we’ve added a per-channel leaderboard that spotlights viewers who have contributed to a streamer’s channel the most during a Share Controller session.

Full Screen Broadcasting on Mixer

Mixer streamers can now go full screen with their webcam while broadcasting. You can switch to full screen webcam broadcasting at any time you want. While in this mode game audio is muted, making it perfect for talking to your audience while switching from game to game or setting up before you start playing. You can even do all IRL broadcasts!

For the best experience we recommend using one of these cameras:

  • Microsoft LifeCam Studio
  • Logitech HD Pro Webcam C922
  • Logitech Webcam C930e
  • Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000

Console broadcasting quality and stability improvements

We’ve made a number of changes and fixes to improve overall broadcast video quality.  You will now experience improved performance when broadcasting bandwidth-heavy multiplayer.

All of these updates are available because of the Xbox Insiders who have helped shape these features, so big thanks to all of you for your valuable input.  If you’d like to help create the future of Xbox and get access to early features, download the Xbox Insider Hub app on your Xbox One or Windows 10 PC.  You can also visit the Xbox Insider blog here for the latest release notes and to learn more. Happy gaming!

Accessible Gaming With The Xbox Adaptive Controller

Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, reveals the Xbox Adaptive Controller, a controller which will enable and empower even more Xbox One and Windows 10 gamers across the globe.

At Microsoft, we believe in empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our CEO, Satya Nadella, has spoken about how essential it is that we push the boundaries of what technology can do in a concerted effort to be inclusive of everyone around the world. These principles have the deepest impact in how we are building products that are designed for everyone. We have been on a journey of inclusive design, which celebrates and draws inspiration from people who are often overlooked in the typical design process.

As I discussed at the annual DICE conference in February, when we truly design for all, we help make the world more equal. That’s why I’m so excited about today’s Microsoft Story Labs feature which shares an in-depth look at our newest piece of hardware which we believe will enable and empower even more Xbox One and Windows 10 gamers across the globe: The Xbox Adaptive Controller.

Xbox Adaptive Controller Inline 1

By taking an inclusive design approach and considerations of gamers who might not be able to reach all the bumpers and triggers or hold a controller for an extended period of time, for example, we were able to design a controller that provides a way for more fans to enjoy gaming. On our journey of inclusive design, we have taken a wider view of our fans and a more inclusive approach to designing for them.

For gamers with limited mobility, finding controller solutions to fit their individual needs has been challenging. The solutions that exist today are often expensive, hard to find, or require significant technical skill to create. A number of individuals and organizations are creating custom solutions, but it has been often difficult for them to scale when most rigs need to be so personalized.

Joining the Xbox family of controllers and devices, the Xbox Adaptive Controller was created to address these challenges and remove barriers to gaming by being adaptable to more gamers’ needs.  It was developed in partnership with organizations around the world, including The AbleGamers Charity, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Craig Hospital, SpecialEffect, and Warfighter Engaged. We worked closely with them and directly with gamers who have limited mobility to assist in our development.  Our goal was to make the device as adaptable as possible, so gamers can create a setup that works for them in a way that is plug-and-play, extensible, and affordable.  In addition to working with common adaptive switches that gamers with limited mobility may already own, it has two large buttons built in. These buttons can also be reprogrammed to act as any of the standard controller’s button inputs via the Xbox Accessories app.

Xbox Adaptive Controller Inline 2

To make the Xbox Adaptive Controller a viable solution for the widest possible range of gamers with limited mobility, we’ve worked closely with third-party manufacturers to support external inputs which can be plugged in to the new controller.  These inputs include PDP’s One-Handed Joystick for the Xbox Adaptive Controller, Logitech’s Extreme 3D Pro Joystick, and Quadstick’s Game Controller. We couldn’t be prouder to have their support in introducing the Xbox Adaptive Controller. More recommended partner devices can be found here.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller has been years in the making, though we realize that this is only one step along our journey of inclusive design and that we have more work ahead. This has been a passion project for people around the world, both inside Microsoft and beyond. We’re thrilled to introduce it to the world today, tell the story behind it, and take what we have learned on our journey to inform future initiatives in inclusive design. Make sure you check out today’s feature on Microsoft Story Labs and hear directly from Microsoft Chief Accessibility Officer Jenny Lay-Flurrie in her blog today to commemorate Global Accessibility Awareness Day.

 

At $99.99 USD and available exclusively through Microsoft Store, the Xbox Adaptive Controller will offer significant value over the customized alternatives that exist today. We’re looking forward to sharing more about the Xbox Adaptive Controller in a few weeks at E3. The Xbox Adaptive Controller will be launching later this year, and we’ll share more information soon about pre-order availability.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out Ability Week at Microsoft Store locations starting Tuesday, May 29, through Saturday, June 2, a five-day experience of events that showcases hearing, vision, mobility, and cognitive assistive technologies that empower people with accessibility needs.