Developer Sledgehammer Games and publisher Activision Blizzard have released a detailed look at the new accessibility options that launched with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, the best-selling game of last month. In it, the companies reveal some interesting statistics that show accessibility options and features are very popular with players and useful for everyone that plays Call of Duty games.
For example, more than 40 percent of players customized their analog stick deadzone input in last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II. More than half of all players in that game adjusted graphical accessibility settings, too, like motion blur, field of view, and camera movement.
For this year’s entry, Sledgehammer says, “Modern Warfare III provides even more ways to customize the visual experience for all players,” like the High Contrast mode available in the campaign that “enables players with vision impairment or color blindness to see their allies and enemies more clearly.” In this mode, allies are outlined with a blue-green color and enemies are outlined in red, and these visual markers change in real-time as you play.
Other new accessibility features in this year’s Call of Duty include a major update to the settings menu of the game. Sledgehammer says settings are now tagged to better identify specific features, such as tags related to settings for motor, vision, audio, and cognitive adjustments. Plus, these tags can be filtered.
“Major updates to controller settings in Modern Warfare III provide more detail for players looking to customize their inputs,” the blog reads. “These changes are also better reflected in the menu to give our community a visual preview of how these changes will impact on their controls.”
One example of this is that the deadzone inputs menu now highlights an approximation of how left or right thumb sticks will react to tweaking with a visual preview on the screen.
Another new addition in Modern Warfare III is a new accessibility preset called “Low Motor Strain.” This preset reduces the physical effort required when playing, with few button presses or holds required and sensitivity increased. “This preset joins existing presets which include simplified controls, audio/visual support, visual support, and motion reduction, making it faster for anyone who needs accessibility features to jump into the game,” according to the blog.
For more, read Game Informer’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III review and then read about how it’s already the second best-selling game of 2023. Check out Game Informer’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II review after that.
Have you been using any of these features in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III? Let us know in the comments below!