One gaming audience that has been fairly overlooked since the inception of gaming has been disabled gamers. While there is still so much needed for those with disabilities to be fully included in gaming experiences, this past gaming generation has made some good strides in moving that needle forward. Microsoft made a big push for those with disabilities by creating the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which gives those with compromised motor functions the ability to play in new customizable ways. One group dedicated to this cause is AbleGamers, which has announced a new initiative to help marginalized developers and make games more inclusive to those with special needs.

Today we’re excited to share The DPAD Initiative! The Developers Promoting Accessibility & Diversity Initiative will give marginalized devs the opportunity to apply for free seats in our APX accessibility design course.

For more details visit:https://t.co/jUKNnmNzSQ

— AbleGamers Charity (@AbleGamers) August 4, 2020

AbleGamers has announced their new Developers Promoting Accessibility and Diversity (or DPAD, clever right?) Initiative on their official website. The initiative has been established to assist developers led and controlled by those with historically marginalized voices in gaming, such as women, POCs, LGBTQ+ folx and those with disabilities. Their big goal is to make developers aware of how to make both the development process and games in general more accessible to those with different abilities. This particular instruction will come from the Accessible Player Experience Practitioner Course.

The DPAD Initiative by AbleGamers also seeks to provide additional financial resources to developers, with the intent that the funds will be used to help make the game more accessible and customizable for those with disabilities. Largely, this will be focused on smaller developers who would have interest in adding accessibility features to the game, but may not have the budget or expertise in implementing such features. Bigger publishers like Ubisoft have made significant improvements in making accessibility a core priority for their games, but most of the gaming industry still lags behind in that regard. Thankfully, there are groups like AbleGamers that are fighting the good fight and taking the steps needed to make gaming the inclusive medium that it should have been along.

What do you guys think about the new DPAD Initiative by AbleGamers? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest gaming news, such as a major PlayStation 5 announcement reportedly coming this month, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!