Gears 5 recently launched its Operation 7 Drop 1 update, which brought about a lot of multiplayer changes and new content. On top of an entirely new competitive mode, new characters, and balancing tweaks, Gears 5 also added an extensive list of new accessibility options.
Accessibility features have been a big front in the games industry recently, with many new games like Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart implementing many new features to ensure that many players can experience the game as possible. Many older titles, such as Gears 5, are also taking the time to increase their accessibility even years after launch.
The biggest addition with the update is a new feature dubbed the Navigation Ping - Escape Mode. The feature has four different modes for players to pick from. The first is a Full Path ping that constantly pings where players need to go to progress. The second is a Doorways ping that constantly pings the main exit in each area. Both modes also feature a variation that is only shown when the player has the Taccom active. The features should help some players navigate the game's world to better reach all of Gears 5's dark story beats and moments.
The Navigation Ping also features unique pings to indicate to players when they need to interact with something in the world or vault over a piece of cover, as well as each ping having a visual cue with high contrast to aid in visibility. The other two accessibility options added to Gears 5 include allowing players to disable camera shake in PvE modes as well as using the Target Lock feature in PvE modes as well. While the update doesn't seem to include many changes for players playing PvP multiplayer, the update does also make all Gears 5 players play with PC and console crossplay.
It is great that the games industry seems to be investing in accessibility features across a multitude of genres and forms. With big companies like Sony even filing extensive patents regarding accessibility, the future seems bright for more gamers than ever being able to experience new game releases.
More people being able to enjoy a game is always a good thing, and Gears 5 developers The Coalition putting in the effort to expand the game's audience years after its launch is very commendable. Hopefully, future Xbox first-party titles will continue to expand on their accessibility features and bring even more innovation and new standards to the field.
Gears 5 is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: The Coalition