EA previously announced in 2021 that the company promised to provide the game industry with accessibility-related patents that can be tried for free. Since then, 23 patents have been added to the free accessibility patent library created by the company.
The company recently highlighted some important patents that third parties can freely use, such as improved speech recognition, streamlined speech technology in games, and the ability to create more personalized voices. The main goal of this technology is to help players who have language barriers or who need to seek help through verbal expressions.
EA suggests that developers can use this technology to "enable the voices of these players to be more effectively recognized and reflected in the game in a way that represents their age, emotion, language and speaking style."
Another technology that the company specifically pointed out is a plug-in within the Unreal 5 engine that can use EA's previously open source light-sensitive analysis technology "IRIS". The plugin now allows developers to catch potential light sensitivity issues at any time while running the game. Some players have photosensitive diseases (such as photosensitive epilepsy), and this feature can prevent some flash parts from being missed by developers.
EA has also previously provided the "Apex Legends" marking system and NPC voice control functions for free for industry use. Kerry Hopkins, the company's senior vice president of global affairs, said the latest batch of open source patents "encourages the industry to work together to make video games more inclusive by removing unexpected barriers to access."