The Game Accessibility Conference has announced the nominees and broadcast date for the 2023 GAConf Awards, which celebrate advancements and achievements in accessibility across the industry.

　　The awards set out to recognize the efforts of both independent and AAA developers in making video games accessible to disabled players. Though it is the awards' focus, the nominees are not limited to literal game development. The awards also recognize hardware advancements, academic research, and journalism. Narrative also gets a nod with the representation award. This year, games from PlayStation Studios--including God of War Ragnarok, The Last of Us Part 1, and Horizon Forbidden West--rank highly, as well as Xbox indie As Dusk Falls.

　　The event will be hosted by accessibility advocate Steve Saylor. Several others will present individual awards, including SightlessKombat, Phil Spencer of Xbox, Paul Amadeus Lane, David Tisserand of Ubisoft, Jay Justice, Chris 'DeafGamersTV' Robinson, Mark Friend of Sony Interactive, and Dr. Mick Donegan.

　　Naturally, the event itself will also be accessible, including audio description, signing in ASL and BSL, and subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese.

　　The GAconf Awards will be broadcast on January 25 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET. You can watch the awards on the GAconf's official YouTube channel or in its official Discord. The full list of categories and nominees is below.

2023 GAconf Awards Nominees

　　Horizon Forbidden WestThe Last of Us Part 1God of War RagnarokIndie Excellence

　　As Dusk FallsSifuReturn to Monkey IslandBest Deaf/HoH Accessibility

　　The QuarryGod of War RagnarokLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker SagaBest Physical/Mobility Accessibility

　　The Stanley Parable: Ultra DeluxeRocksmith+As Dusk FallsBest Blind/Low Vision Accessibility

　　As Dusk FallsGod of War RagnarokThe Last of Us Part 1Best Cognitive Accessibility

　　Rocksmith+Return to Monkey IslandThe QuarryBest Representation

　　Soundly/0929Lego Roblox hearing aidsJust Dance 2023 wheelchair userSaints Row avatar prostheticsBest Journalism

　　Ben Bayliss - DualSense's haptics need to find the right balance of immersion and functionalityGrant Stoner - How Disabled 'Elden Ring' Players Conquered The Lands BetweenClair Jackson - Consent And Compassion: How Devs Are Reshaping The Conversation Around Content WarningsBest Academic Research

　　The Pedagogical Value of Creating Accessible Games: A Case Study with Higher Education StudentsUnderstanding the perceptions and experiences of the deafblind communityIncluding the Experiences of Physically Disabled Players in Mainstream Guidelines for Movement-Based GamesBest Resource

　　Microsoft Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals trainingPlayStation accessibility siteSpecialEffect DevKitMost Accessible Gaming Event

　　Ubisoft ForwardXbox at GamescomA11yTOGamingHardware Innovation

　　PS5 OS Upgrades8BitDo Lite SE ControllerMicrosoft Adaptive AccessoriesMost Improvement

　　The Last of Us Part 1Dead Cells "Breaking Barriers" updateDeathloop update 3Biggest Accessibility Surprise

　　Apple Unity accessibility pluginForza user research in ASL/BSLMicrosoft Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals trainingMost Dedicated Publisher

　　Sony Interactive EntertainmentXbox Game StudiosUbisoftMost Dedicated Studio

　　Naughty DogRareUbisoft KyivMVP Award For Most Dedicated Developer

　　Mila Pavlin, Santa Monica StudioDavid Tisserand, UbisoftGuide Dev, Hearthstone accessibility modThe Advocacy Award

　　Grant StonerChris "DeafGamersTV" RobinsonErin Hawley

　　Grace Benfell on Google+