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Forza Horizon 5 will include sign language support for cutscenes

Both American Sign Language and British Sign Language will be supported shortly after launch.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

November 8, 2021

1 Min Read

Playground Games is bringing American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) support to Forza Horizon 5 to make the title more accessible.

The Microsoft-owned studio explained ASL and BSL support will arrive shortly after launch, granting the ability to enable a sign language interpreter for all of the game's cutscenes.

Players will be able to toggle the feature on and off as required. When enabled, it will result in an ASL or BSL interpreter appearing picture-in-picture at the bottom right of the screen during cinematics (as shown below).

For those wondering why it's important to support both subtitles and sign language, the latter can be used to convey more nuance than the written word, allowing those with hearing impairments to enjoy a richer experience with more personality and depth.

According to UK organisation British Sign, around 145,000 people in the UK alone listed BSL as their preferred language at the start of the last decade, although it was only recognised by the UK government as an official minority language in 2003.

Forza Horizon 5 will also include a range of other accessibility features including customizable menu and gameplay font sizes, a color blindness mode that makes it easier to visualize certain game elements, a screen reader narrator, text-to-speech and speech-to-text options, the ability to disable moving backgrounds, and customizable subtitles.

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About the Author

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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