Playing video games is an escape, a free-space for many of us. But, in these worlds defined by limitless exploration, gamers with limited mobility often can’t play. The reason? Joysticks and controller pads don’t meet their specific needs. 

Luckily, Xbox believes that all of us win when everybody’s able to play. That’s why they teamed up with The AbleGamers Charity, The Cerebral Palsy Foundation, SpecialEffect, Warfighter Engaged and a bunch of community members to design the Xbox Adaptive Controller. It was time to let their community and limited mobility gamers influence a new way of entering game worlds.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller makes people with limited mobility able to design their own gaming experience from scratch. It functions as a unified hub, where players can connect different devices that correspond to all the Xbox Controller’s buttons. Buttons, switches, mounts and joysticks can be connected to the controller pad, so players can use one hand, a foot or even a chin and elbow to play.

This design makes gaming possible for more than 1 billion people in the world who live with disabilities. Previously, they’ve had to build their own or pay huge amounts of money to get a suitable controller.

According to Muscular Dystrophy UK, almost 60% of disabled people under 24 list gaming as their favourite or most frequent pastime. For them, this controller is literally a game-changer. Now, instead of falling behind in a car chase or just giving up, they’re able to play with friends and people across countries and timezones, equally. 

The Xbox Adaptive Controller is a powerful reminder that products shouldn’t only be designed with the assumption that people can see, hear and have fully functioning hands. And, the developers behind the controller promise that this isn’t a one-time thing but, the first into a new evolution of gamepads.

Designers: Microsoft - USA
UN SDGs: Good health and well-being & Reduced inequalities

XBOX Adaptive Controller from The Index Project on Vimeo. Music: Lee Rosevere