Among the best accessibility improvements offered by Microsoft, it would be hard not to mention Windows Live Captions, a feature launched last September on Windows. However, the latter could also be very useful in video games.
A feature with a future
Indeed, Windows Live Captions could make games more accessible by offering live captions for games that don’t have them. Microsoft added this feature to Windows in September 2022, which can filter profanity and change text formatting or even create live captions for any audio source on a Windows computer.
This feature could be used for all games featuring an American protagonist. Live captions could also be used to make games more accessible in the Xbox ecosystem, providing an additional accessibility option for gamers who are hard of hearing or deaf. However, this feature is limited to US English, which may cause issues for games that are not in English or have characters with a different accent. Several users have already shared their experience on Reddit.
Microsoft could improve this feature with AI to clean up noise and add functionality for other languages. Live Captions could also be used in the Xbox ecosystem to improve the accessibility of video games. Microsoft has spent billions of dollars on AI-based projects, and there are few excuses for not developing this feature.
To use Windows Live Captions, go to the Accessibility section of your Windows 11 Settings menu or use the keyboard shortcut Windows + Ctrl + L. This feature is available for all games, including older Xbox Cloud Gaming titles without captions. .
