Bungie has founded a dedicated accessibility initiative to oversee work that will make Destiny 2 and its future games more accessible.
The studio outlined its ambitions for Accessibility at Bungie, a new internal Inclusion Club, in a recent blog post. "Its mission is to educate everyone in the company on identifying barriers, to improve workplace accessibility, to make material improvements to the playability of Bungie’s games, and to partner with organizations within the gaming industry who are dedicated to game accessibility," it explains.
Player support specialist Drew Tucker will help lead the studio's accessibility push. He's joined by designer Jonathan Barbeau, senior designer Robert Schuster, and other members of Bungie and the Destiny 2 team.
"In my time here, I’ve seen a lot of players describe mental health issues they are experiencing and are trying to seek help," Tucker says. "We have procedures in place to guide them toward help, but I’ve always wanted to do more. Soon, we’ll be launching a fully localized article that will contain as much helpful information that we can provide, and we’ll continue to update it as time goes on."
In the short-term, the accessibility club is eyeing plans to add full-auto options to Destiny 2 weapons like scout rifles and sidearms. This has been suggested before, and as Schuster observes, these weapons can be a literal pain point for some players due to the repetitive motion required to manually fire them rapidly. Tucker says the Bungie forums may also add a specific accessibility section so players "can inform us of issues that won't get lost among other game issues."
To christen the accessibility club's founding and show support for National Disability Employment Awareness Month this October, Bungie will sell a new disability awareness pin with profits going to the reputable charity AbleGamers. It will be added to the Bungie store on Friday, October 1.
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