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AbleGamers' Steven Spohn: 'Accessibility is inevitable now'

Responding to a thread on Twitter, AbleGamers Director Steven Spohn spoke about the state of accessibility.

Donovan Erskine

March 13, 2023 1:00 PM

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Accessibility is one of the hottest ongoing conversations in gaming. On both a AAA and indie scale, more studios are taking the effort to implement features that make their games accessible to more players, though there is still a long way to go. One of the biggest proponents of accessibility in games is Steven Spohn, the senior director of AbleGamers. Responding to a recent conversation on Twitter about the matter, Spohn stated that, “Accessibility is inevitable.”

The quote came in response to a tweet earlier today about accessibility in modern games. Specifically, content creator and accessibility advocate Laura Kate Dale shared a video that expresses concerns about the lack of robust accessibility options in the upcoming Final Fantasy 16, after a handful of people recently had the chance to play a brief demo of it. After her video was met with backlash, Spohn came to her defense.

That last line is incredibly poignant. Steven Spohn has long fought for a more inclusive video game industry in terms of accessibility, and his efforts have helped create actual change. With major companies around the industry embracing impactful accessibility options, it feels inevitable that more will follow in the coming years.

Steven Spohn was named Shacknews’ Person of the Year in 2020, and continues to be on the forefront of the fight for accessibility in gaming. His organization, AbleGamers, consulted with Sony on Project Leonardo, an upcoming accessibility controller from the PlayStation creator. For more stories on accessibility in video games, stay with us here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_