VR continues to reach new heights, albeit gradually. As it grows, developers and designers must recognize that the technology’s expansion means it must cater to a more diverse audience. Ensuring VR accessibility will be critical going forward.

Accessibility is a broad topic, but some best practices apply in most scenarios. Here are seven of the most important accessibility settings to include in VR games and apps.

1. Customizable Visuals

Adjustable graphical settings are essential. At least 2.2 billion people worldwide have a vision impairment, and these conditions can vary widely in their effects. Consequently, VR applications, as a primarily visual medium, must give users the ability to tailor visible elements to their needs.

Sliding scales for brightness, contrast and font size are obvious ways to meet this need. Including a high-contrast mode for those with color blindness and text-to-speech functions will also help.

2. Adjustable Auditory Settings

Similarly, VR software must provide customizable audio controls. Hearing loss affects more than 50 million people in the U.S. alone, so reliance on audio signals can limit the experience for many users.

Closed captioning for dialogue, music, sound effects and other noises is a good first step. Providing multiple communication options, such as one voice-based and one text-based, is another best practice. While less pressing, adjustable volume, bass, treble and similar settings can also be helpful.

3. Intuitive Controls and Navigable Menus

Ease of use is another core aspect of VR accessibility. Roughly 70% of Gen Z users believe digital experiences should be intuitive, and the easier it is to understand how an app works, the more a diverse audience can enjoy it.

Menus should be simple, with clear, informative wording to aid navigation. Making controls feel intuitive is trickier, as it’s more abstract, but user testing can help. Test multiple designs thoroughly among a diverse population and ask for feedback to see what factors may make the experience feel more or less natural.

4. Support for Multiple Languages

Accessible VR software should also accommodate users’ language preferences. More than one-fifth of the U.S. population speaks a language other than English, and developers can boost sales by targeting a global audience. Sales aside, multilingual support ensures people can enjoy an app the way they want to.

It’s important to hire native speakers to perform all translation work. Automated translations may have come a long way, but they’re still prone to error, and mistakes or awkward phrasing will alienate some users.

5. Multiple Input Methods

In addition to supporting several languages, accessible VR apps must provide multiple input options. While many VR platforms have proprietary controllers, these may be hard for people with disabilities to use. Consequently, developers shouldn’t restrain themselves to just one peripheral.

Keyboards, computer mice and gamepads are all potential alternatives to explore. Consider implementing voice controls, too. Not every type of app or piece of VR hardware will work with every input method, but you should support at least two.

6. Customizable Motion Controls

Likewise, control customization is another key piece of VR accessibility. An estimated 494 million people worldwide have a musculoskeletal disorder, some of which can make motion controls — which are often the standard in VR — difficult or impossible. Users can work around this if they can change how they interact with the app.

Avoid building software around the VR hardware’s built-in motion controls. Provide at least one alternate method, like mouse and keyboard or joystick controls. Users should also be able to choose which actions use which input method to offer even more personalization.

7. Motion Sickness Mitigation

No VR accessibility strategy is complete without addressing motion sickness. These ailments are common among VR users, and some audiences are more susceptible to them than others, so it’s important to offer mitigation options.

Technical improvements like ensuring a consistent framerate and latency go a long way. Providing ways for users to calibrate the headset’s lenses or adjust in-game viewing distances and motion blur can also help.

VR Accessibility Is Key to Continued Growth

VR must become more accessible if the technology is to see broader adoption. Ensuring an experience is usable and enjoyable for a diverse audience can be challenging, but it’s a crucial step in reaching the technology’s full potential.

These seven considerations are not the only VR accessibility concerns, but they are a good starting point. Make sure your app covers these areas, and you’ll be on track to make VR software anyone can use comfortably.

Eleanor Hecks is Editor-in-Chief of Designerly Magazine where she specializes in design, development, and UX topics. Follow Designerly on X @Designerlymag.

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