EA Just Open Sourced 23 Accessibility Patents, . This means other developers across the industry can use the technology at no cost. The news comes later Don’t sue rival companies for co-opting these types of tools.
Third parties from today to improve accessibility for users. This includes new voice recognition tools, simplified voice technology in games, and the ability to create custom voice detection algorithms. EA says other developers can use this technology to “make it possible for those players’ speech to be more effectively recognized and reflected in the game in a way that is representative of their age, emotion, language, and speaking style.”
There is also an internal plugin for Unreal Engine 5 that has been pushed into the open source pile. This incorporates EA’s photosensitivity analysis technology, called IRIS, and should allow developers to quickly spot potential issues that could impact players with certain health problems related to vision or the nervous system.
Kerry Hopkins, EA’s senior vice president of global affairs, says this new batch of open source patents “encourages the industry to work together to make video games more inclusive by removing unintended barriers to access.” The company also says this is just the beginning of its efforts to improve accessibility across the industry, as it will begin holding accessible design workshops and expand its testing capabilities.
This isn’t the first time EA has made some of its proprietary accessibility technologies free for competitors. It did this for the ping system originally present in the file which gives players the ability to discuss game strategy without having to rely on voice chat. It also makes it easier to transmit location data to teammates. The technology has appeared in other games such as Call of Duty: Warzone AND Fortnite.
