Ubisoft opens colourblind simulation tool to public for accessibility

04/15/2025 Gaming

Ubisoft is making waves in the gaming world with a fantastic move towards greater accessibility! They've released their in-house colourblind simulation tool, Chroma, for public use. This is a big deal because it empowers developers to easily see how their games appear to players with colourblindness.

Imagine creating a beautiful game world, only to realize that a significant portion of your audience can't experience it the way you intended. Chroma helps developers avoid this by applying a real-time filter that simulates different types of colourblindness. And the best part? It doesn't impact game performance!

How Chroma Works and Why It Matters

Chroma uses the Color Oracle algorithm to accurately simulate various forms of colourblindness. It's been in development since 2021 by Ubisoft's Quality Control team, who've been refining it to be as efficient and accurate as possible. The tool can be used on single or dual screens and offers a customizable overlay, making it super versatile for different development setups.

According to Ubisoft's director of accessibility, David Tisserand, Chroma has significantly improved their ability to assess game accessibility for colourblind players. By open-sourcing it on Github, they're inviting the entire industry to benefit from it and contribute to its future development. It's a collaborative effort to make gaming more inclusive for everyone.

Jawad Shakil, QC product manager, emphasizes that Chroma aims to make colourblindness accessibility a natural part of the creative and testing process. The team overcame challenges to create a tool that eliminates lag and inaccuracies, making accessibility testing efficient and smooth. It is a testament to the team's innovation and dedication.

This move is especially important considering an estimated 300 million people worldwide are affected by colourblindness. While some games offer colour scheme options, many don't, leaving a large portion of players unable to fully enjoy the gaming experience. Chroma hopes to change that by making accessibility a standard practice in game development.

Ubisoft also had a rocky period recently. They announced a new subsidiary with a €1.16bn investment from Tencent. The company will own and work on its key franchises like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry. Ubisoft has also been embroiled in a lawsuit with players of its racing game The Crew, which was taken offline in March last year.

Want to learn more about accessibility in gaming? Check out Eurogamer's recent interview with Thumb Soldiers, a company focused on empowering players to modify their own adaptive controllers.

Overall, Ubisoft's decision to open-source Chroma is a major win for accessibility in gaming. It's a tool that has the potential to make a real difference in how games are developed and experienced by players around the world.