Brannon Zahand

Senior Gaming Accessibility Program Manager for @Xbox. #a11y #disability #gamingforeveryone He/Him

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

Accessible Games Initiative Tags are now live across all our @Xbox experiences! #a11y #gamedev

[XBOX Wire @XBOXWire]

Accessible Games Initiative tags are now available across all digital Xbox experiences.

Check out an interview with Xbox’s Brannon Zahand and accessibility advocate Steve Saylor to learn more: https://t.co/ZXuetgXPEv

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@harvickfan429 @momoxmia Unfortunately I'm not up to speed one what WA has planed for their upcoming football titles. @momoxmia might have a better idea.

[Tara Voelker @LadieAuPair]

Today I again remind folks at that we offer free tickets to @GA_Conf for folks caught in lay offs and unable to find work.

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

Created a ChatGPT agent to help perform initial accessibility reviews of game industry event plans based on Microsoft's Playbook for Accessible Gaming Events (PAGE). Just upload your planning docs and ask Paige to provide some advice. #a11y https://t.co/PD5I752LUR

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

I'm streaming with my good friend, Naomi Koneko now! https://t.co/3nWmZUQG75

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@loganbrazzon Sorry, might have been a short time rm caching issue. Glad it's working for you now!

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

5 years... I've been working on the Accessible Games Initiative tags for 5 years. When it launched at #GDC2025 it felt surreal. But today it feels... indescribable. These tags are now available on https://t.co/AsGs53vujT, the Xbox Console Store, and more. #a11y

[XBOX Wire @XBOXWire]

This #GAAD, Xbox is leveling up accessibility! From new features in games such as DOOM: The Dark Ages, Candy Crush Soda Saga, World of Warcraft, and beyond - we’re committed to making gaming for everyone: https://t.co/WUS9Wj1TaC

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@Dirtypawz__ I'll make sure to get this over to the right folks. Thanks for the extra context!

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@Bertholomey We just released the Xbox Adaptive Joystick if you haven't seen it, but I realize the controller you are showing here has more functionality. Has anyone tested to see if it works with the Xbox Adaptive Controller?

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@Dirtypawz__ Accessibility is a journey, one that Xbox is still relatively early in. We know we can improve and are striving to. Please continue to let us know how we're doing and what we can do to improve.

[Ian Hamilton @ianhamilton_]

Top stories from Global Accessibility Awareness Day -

- Xbox rolls out Accessible Games Initiative tags
- Can I Play That award winners announced
- Safe In Our World workplace accessibility toolkit
- GAconf USA tickets on sale

More: https://t.co/n2qZY3Ep87
#gamedev #indiedev

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@ianhamilton_ @gbla11yday Thank you, @ianhamilton_ for putting together this great list every #GAAD. And thanks for that damned quiz, which always lulls one into a false sense of security until ~ question 4, at which point it turns into an imposter syndrome engine for even the most seasoned #a11y vets. 🤣

[Ian Hamilton @ianhamilton_]

Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day!

The hashtag is VERY busy with announcements and events and other goodies, but I'll be updating this cheatsheet of #gamedev things throughout the day:

https://t.co/n2qZY3Ep87

#gaad #indiedev @gbla11yday

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

Finally, to all my fellow advocates out there who are fighting the good fight to advance accessibility for the gaming and disability community, keep it up. Progress is never linear and rarely quick. Don't give up and lean on your fellow #accessibilibuddies when you need to. #gaad

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

To everyone at Xbox and the Accessible Games Initiative who made this possible, I offer a heartfelt thank you. I can't wait to see others in the industry adopt these tags to help consumers *and* developers by creating a common taxonomy around how we talk and think about #a11y.

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@harvickfan429 This is a great question. Here are my tips when contacting a #gamedev to ask for #a11y improvements: 1) Be polite and sincere. 2) Explain how you are personally impacted and give specific examples. 3) Put a face to the name (pic/video). 4) Get others to do the same.

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@arevya @Black1976 @Steam I hope that now that the initiative is live, we'll see even more industry members come together to evolve and grow the tags. And I hope that will continue to drive developers and publishers to use a consistent set of criteria and taxonomy to make life better for gamers and devs.

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

@arevya @Black1976 @Steam I think one thing to remember is that getting consensus on any initiative amongst industry competitors is *very* difficult. The larger the group involved, the more challenging it is to gain agreement and the slower the process goes.

[Brannon Zahand @BrannonZ]

W00t! Promise Mascot Agency is available today on Xbox! 🗾😻 @KaizenGameWorks did such an amazing job putting together a game that is incredibly cute, fun, *and* accessible. It's also on sale for a limited time! #a11y https://t.co/Ponn5kC7ri

[Steve Saylor @stevesaylor]

This is HUGE news. Universal Accessibility Tags on Storefronts makes it much simpler to identify a game that has the type of accessibility a disabled player may need. This isn't a ESRB type system or a legal mandate to make a standard accessibility list. This is to help disabled players navigate storefronts to find the right game for them. LOVE IT!!!

Congrats to everyone involved. To get @EA, @Ubisoft, @Nintendo, @Microsoft, and @Google (plus several others) to come together and make this initiative happen is an amazing achievement.