Steam is rolling out a new questionnaire for developers that makes it easier for them to highlight accessibility features in their games. Later in 2025, it will also become easier for players to search for games with specific accessibility features.
These updates were outlined in a blog post on April 22. In the “Edit Store” section for a game on Steamworks, developers can now complete an accessibility support questionnaire to confirm that their game has various gameplay, audio, visual, and input accessibility options. From there, developers can self-identify their game’s level of accessibility.
For now, this will only be visible within Steamworks, but later this year, it will have more public-facing uses. Developers will eventually be able to share information from this questionnaire on the Steam Store and App pages. Steam users will also gain the option to search for specific accessibility features. The following accessibility filters for search have been confirmed by Valve:
- Adjustable Difficulty
- Save Anytime
- Adjustable Text Size
- Subtitle Options
- Color Alternatives
- Camera Comfort
- Custom Volume Controls
- Stereo Sound
- Surround SOund
- Narrated Game Menus
- Playable without Timed Input
- Keyboard Only Option
- Mouse Only Option
- Touch Only Option
- Chat Speech-to-text
- Chat Text-to-speech
Valve explains that it is implementing these features to bring “a more positive experience on Steam for everyone by making it easier to find games that support Accessibility features.” It’s not required that devs fill out the questionnaire, but Valve says it is “highly recommended” because it will make it easier for players with accessibility needs to find these games.
If you’re a Steam user, expect to see these game accessibility-focused improvements on Steam sometime this year.
