Last year’s edition of the GAconf awards continued the gaming industry’s recent initiative to recognize the efforts of game developers and other parties in promoting accessibility. An expert panel shortlisted 18 categories, with winners chosen based on a jury and public vote. Below, we review the finalists and winners of the GAconf Awards 2022.
Quick answer: The GAconf Awards are run by the Game Accessibility Conference and recognise accessibility work in video games, with winners chosen by a mix of jury and public vote. The most recent edition, for 2025, was announced on 29 January 2026, with FC 26 taking AAA excellence and Electronic Arts named most dedicated publisher.
| Year | AAA Excellence | Indie Excellence | Most Dedicated Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | God of War Ragnarök | Return to Monkey Island | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
| 2023 | Forza Motorsport | Stories of Blossom | Ubisoft |
| 2024 | Star Wars Outlaws | Another Crab’s Treasure | Ubisoft |
| 2025 | FC 26 | The Art of Fauna | Electronic Arts |
The rest of this article covers the 2022 awards category by category, followed by summaries of the three editions since.
GAconf Awards 2022: Category by Category
AAA and Indie Excellence
The event kicked off with the AAA Excellence award, which recognizes notable accessibility in big-budget titles. God of War Ragnarok beat out Horizon Forbidden West and The Last of Us Part 1 for its wide variety of accessibility adjustment options to the gameplay. In the same category for small-budget games (Indies), Return to Monkey Island won for its re-imagination of the point-and-click genre.
Best Deaf/HoH Accessibility
Next, God of War Ragnarok received – once again – the Best Deaf/HoH Accessibility award. This award recognizes the game with the best accessibility example for deaf and hard-of-hearing gamers. Other contenders for this category were The Quarry and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
Best Physical/Mobility Accessibility
Rocksmith+ was celebrated for exemplifying accessibility for players with motor impairment, winning against The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe and As Dusk Falls.
Best Blind / Low Vision Accessibility
Meanwhile, The Last of Us Part 1’s took home the Best Blind / Low Vision Accessibility award for impressive blind accessibility levels thanks to – in part – its usage of audio descriptions in cutscenes.
Best Cognitive Accessibility
In a category designed to honor the game with the best accessibility for intellectual/learning disability, mental health, and neurodiversity, The Quarry won against Rocksmith+ and Return to Monkey Island.
Best Representation
While the representation of disabled characters seems to be gaining less mainstream attention than accessibility, it was not lacking in last year’s contestants. Just Dance 2023 won the Best Representation award for depicting a wheelchair-using character.
Best Journalism, Best Academic Research, Best Resource
In the next three categories, the hosts honored journalists, academics, and developers who are furthering the accessibility cause through written work. Grant Stoner won Best Journalism for his article explaining how disabled players can better interact with Elden Ring. Arthur Thiel, Lea Buchweitz, et al. won Best Academic Research for their Understanding The Perceptions And Experiences Of The Deafblind Community paper, while Microsoft’s Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals training won Best Resource.
MVP Award for Most Dedicated Developer
Mila Pavlin of Santa Monica Studio received the MVP Award for Most Dedicated Developer award. GAncof organizers recognized Pavlin for her continued dedication to progressing accessibility internally and making gaming more enjoyable for disabled players. In a similar move, the Global Poker Awards, an award program that recognizes the contributions of poker players, poker providers like Ignition Poker – https://www.tightpoker.com/ignition-poker-review/–, content creators, and industry personalities to the growth of game, honored Vanessa Brill with the Charitable Initiative Award. In 2020, Brill organized a fundraising campaign to help Range Trainer Pro co-founder KL Cleetion make it to the 2021 WSOP competition in Las Vegas. Cleeton, who uses a wheelchair, suffers from a severe form of spinal muscular atrophy. Brill arranged to help him get a special van to travel with across the US.
Most Accessible Gaming Event
The GAconf team also celebrated Ubisoft Forward for hosting an accessible event with the widest audience. According to statistics, Ubisoft Forward draws massive crowds yearly, including over 2 million viewers in its 2020 event. The panel agreed that this large following was crucial to the accessibility cause as it drew more gamers and developers to the conversation.
Hardware Innovation
For its adaptive accessories, Microsoft was awarded the Hardware Innovation award. This award recognizes new accessible technologies.
Most Improved
Continuing in that vein, The Last of Us Part 1 won the Most Improved Award for the game with the most accessibility options and improvements over the years.
Biggest Accessibility Surprise
Receiving its second award of the night, Microsoft’s Gaming Accessibility Fundamentals training won Biggest Accessibility Surprise for impactful efforts no one saw coming.
Most Dedicated Publisher, Studio
Sony Interactive Entertainment won Most Dedicated Publisher for the most consistent and significant efforts toward accessibility. One of its studios, Naughty Dog, won the Most Dedicated Studio award.
The Advocacy Award
The last of the award, The Advocacy Award, went to Grant Stoner for his consistent efforts to make accessibility in media a mainstream conversation.
GAconf Awards 2023
The 2023 winners were announced in January 2024 across 19 categories. Forza Motorsport had the strongest night, taking AAA excellence, best blind and low vision accessibility, and greatest accessibility innovation.
- AAA excellence: Forza Motorsport
- Indie excellence: Stories of Blossom
- Best deaf and hard of hearing accessibility: Hi-Fi Rush
- Best physical and mobility accessibility: Street Fighter 6
- Best cognitive accessibility: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- Best mental health accessibility: Dead Space
- Best representation: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
- Most improved: Dead Space
- Most dedicated publisher: Ubisoft
- Best journalism: Grant Stoner
GAconf Awards 2024
The 2024 winners were announced on 31 January 2025. Star Wars Outlaws took AAA excellence and best deaf and hard of hearing accessibility, and Ubisoft retained most dedicated publisher, with its Kyiv studio named most dedicated studio.
- AAA excellence: Star Wars Outlaws
- Indie excellence: Another Crab’s Treasure
- Best deaf and hard of hearing accessibility: Star Wars Outlaws
- Best physical and mobility accessibility: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
- Best blind and low vision accessibility: Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
- Best cognitive accessibility: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
- Best mental health accessibility: Life Is Strange: Double Exposure
- Best representation: Dragon Age: The Veilguard
- Best assistive technology: ByoWave Proteus
- Most dedicated publisher: Ubisoft, and most dedicated studio Ubisoft Kyiv
GAconf Awards 2025
The most recent edition was announced on 29 January 2026. It introduced an AA excellence award for mid-sized studios, won by Atomfall, alongside the existing AAA and indie categories.
- AAA excellence: FC 26
- AA excellence: Atomfall
- Indie excellence: The Art of Fauna
- Best deaf and hard of hearing accessibility: Assassin’s Creed Shadows
- Best motor and mobility accessibility: Doom: The Dark Ages
- Best blind and low vision accessibility: the Hades 2 blind accessibility mod
- Best cognitive accessibility: Squeakross
- Best mental health accessibility: Abiotic Factor
- Best representation: Just Dance 2026
- Best assistive technology: ByoWave Proteus Builder
- Most dedicated publisher: Electronic Arts, and most dedicated studio Rare
GAconf Awards: Patterns and Records
- Grant Stoner has dominated the writing category. He won best journalism in 2022 for a piece on how disabled players approach Elden Ring, won it again in 2023, and wrote the winning 2024 entry as well. He also took the 2022 advocacy award.
- Ubisoft went back to back as most dedicated publisher in 2023 and 2024, with Ubisoft Kyiv named most dedicated studio in 2024. Electronic Arts took the publisher award in 2025.
- Forza Motorsport had the biggest single night, winning AAA excellence, best blind and low vision accessibility and greatest accessibility innovation at the 2023 awards.
- 2022 was the first year under the GAconf name, and the ceremony itself was delivered with captioning, ASL, BSL and audio description.
- The categories keep changing. An AA excellence award for mid-sized studios was added in 2025, and the hardware category has been reframed over time as best assistive technology.
- Winners are picked by a mix of jury and public vote, which is why the shortlists tend to mix blockbusters with small independent releases and community-made mods. A fan-made Hades 2 accessibility mod won two categories in 2025.
Accessibility is not only a gaming question. If you build for the web, see our guide on how to make the web accessible for people of all abilities, and for more on the industry generally, read why it is an exciting time to be a video gamer.
GAconf Awards: Frequently Asked Questions
What are the GAconf Awards?
They are annual awards run by the Game Accessibility Conference, recognising games, hardware, journalism and research that improve accessibility for disabled players. Winners are decided by a combination of an expert jury and a public vote.
Who won the GAconf Awards 2025?
FC 26 won AAA excellence, Atomfall won the new AA excellence category and The Art of Fauna won indie excellence. Electronic Arts was named most dedicated publisher and Rare most dedicated studio. The winners were announced on 29 January 2026.
When are the GAconf Awards announced?
In the January following the year they cover. The 2023 winners were announced in January 2024, the 2024 winners on 31 January 2025, and the 2025 winners on 29 January 2026.
Who won the GAconf Awards 2022?
God of War Ragnarök won AAA excellence and best deaf and hard of hearing accessibility, and Return to Monkey Island won indie excellence. Sony Interactive Entertainment was most dedicated publisher and Naughty Dog most dedicated studio.
Has any game won more than one GAconf award in a year?
Yes, several. God of War Ragnarök took two categories in 2022, Forza Motorsport won three in 2023, Star Wars Outlaws won two in 2024, and the Hades 2 blind accessibility mod won two in 2025.
Have the GAconf award categories changed?
Yes. The list has grown and been reorganised since 2022. An AA excellence award for mid-sized studios was introduced in 2025, and the hardware category has been reframed as best assistive technology.
Can a mod win a GAconf Award?
Yes. A community-made blind accessibility mod for Hades 2 won both best blind and low vision accessibility and most improved at the 2025 awards.
Conclusion
2022 was the first time these awards were hosted under the GAconf title. However, they continue the gaming industry’s consistent efforts to improve accessibility. With the show being delivered complete with captioning, ASL, BSL, and audio description, the 2022 GAconf awards put accessibility front and center of the mainstream gaming conversation.
