New Just Dance game most accessible yet

Ubisoft has revealed a slew of accessibility options for Just Dance 2023, which is shaping up to be the series’ most accessible game to date.

Ubisoft has posted a new blog post on its website detailing a host of brand new accessibility options for Just Dance 2023 Edition, in a bid to make the new game its most inclusive and accessible yet.

The post features statements from Senior UX Designer Chloé Grémine and Lead UX Designer Adrien Morisse about the importance of making Just Dance an accessible experience for all. It also goes into great detail about the new options, including a selection of new modes for disabled players.

Just Dance feature a host of accessibility options for all players. Picture: Ubisoft

Every song in the game – called “maps” by the developers – is now listed as one of three categories: seated, ground-free, and jump-free. Seated songs can be played entirely while seated, allowing players in wheelchairs or otherwise seated to play the entirety of the song, while the ground-free and jump-free tag offers songs that don’t require players to complete actions like crouching and jumping, respectively.

“The main challenge is the heart of our game, which is the dance,” Grémine said, “It presented a lot of challenges, from the HUD to the choreographies themselves. We wanted to make sure that players can find the right choreographies for them, so we’ve now added accessibility tags to dances for the first time. This extra information should help players avoid movements that might cause them pain or discomfort.”

Just a few examples of the new accessibility options include adjustable HUDs, colour-blind options, and song readability. Picture: Ubisoft

The development team also put extra care and effort to ensure that every aspect of the game was accessible to as many players as possible. This includes changes to readability on song titles, which are now displayed above song covers and not on top of them, as well as wide-ranging audio options, adjustable HUD, and a colourblind-accessible design process for menus.

Ubisoft has been in a bit of hot water lately, after the director behind hit game Assassin’s Creed was accused of harassment. The publishers’ Quebec development studio came under fire for hiring Jonathan Dumont as the creative director of the next Assassin’s Creed game, despite multiple allegations from Ubisoft employees that he had been “abusive and controlling”.

It’s also experienced a bit of development trouble in some upcoming games, with Ubisoft refunding players for a missing Prince of Persia remake. The game was initially scheduled to release in January 2021, but ultimately missed its release date and multiple revised release dates following. The game is currently delayed indefinitely, after having changed development studios multiple times.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.