Forza Horizon 5 introduces sign language support

hello everyonetoday Playground Games brings us a clear example of what it really means to be inclusive, and that is that it has updated its game Forza Horizon 5 to add compatibility with sign language in hundreds of cinematics (over 300), making it the first Xbox Game Studios game to offer sign language support.

As revealed by the company, both American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) will arrive on March 1 in Forza Horizon 5 through a free update.

“This function (available in the Settings > Accessibility > Sign Language menu) allows you to customize the position where it appears on the screen, as well as the background color, both in ASL and BSL. For its creation, we have worked together with members of the deaf and hard of hearing community and actors from that community have been used for interpretation.

“There are many people who are deaf or have disabilities who encounter obstacles on a daily basis. And what I mean by this is that we are constantly confronting these inequalities that exist. Being able to be on the same footing as them means I don’t have to focus on that hurdle,” said Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Head of Accessibility at Microsoft.

“Playing is an important aspect of anyone’s life, and now more than ever, as many will continue to be socially isolated due to the pandemic.” – Jenny Lay-Flurrie

“Games require certain things from you to be able to experience them. And at that time, there are players who meet different levels of challenge. I think we’re going to keep working and solving those problems for people for a long, long time,” said Mike Brown .

“I think it’s easy to work on the development of a game like this and start thinking that you’re an expert in the field of accessibility. The truth is that very few people can claim to be experts in this field. I think we have to be humble in this sense and move forward, asking ourselves questions and trying to be better.”