Game on! Sorenson and Xbox Disrupt Gaming Industry by Providing ASL Access
May 19 2022 - 12:00PM
Every day, the Xbox team streams on the channel on Twitch, the
latest and greatest titles from the world of Xbox. Now, in
partnership with Sorenson, the world’s leading provider of
inclusive communication services for Deaf and hard-of-hearing
people, Xbox has launched a new channel – Xbox ASL – that features
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for original
livestreams.
The partnership delivers gaming to a larger audience as well as
first-looks, specific tips, interviews, and strategies to Deaf
gamers – in their natural language – to support their gaming craft
and winning! For Xbox, it’s an opportunity to spotlight classic and
indie games that never received captioning.
“Gaming with Twitch is a very communal experience for fans and
gamers as celebrities. With ASL interpretation, Deaf gamers can
join and fully participate in that community,” notes Lance Pickett,
Sorenson Chief Relationship Officer, who is Deaf. “Seeing ourselves
in all aspects of life and across all industries gives us equal
grounds to compete!”
The announcement comes on Global Accessibility Awareness Day,
dedicated to learning about digital access and the inclusion and
support of people with disabilities. And now, for Deaf gamers,
digital accessibility support in gaming includes ASL.
Currently, the ASL Xbox channel provides sign language
interpretation for approximately 25 hours of livestreams each
week.
“As a company known for revolutionizing communication access via
technology, we offer huge kudos to Xbox. Gaming is an open
community, and we are proud to partner with any opportunity that
provides Deaf gamers with improved experiences through direct
engagement and ASL accessibility. We urge others within and beyond
the industry to follow,” said Jorge Rodriguez, CEO of Sorenson,
which interprets more than 140 million conversations each year and
remains the industry leader in accessible communications, services,
and technology for Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities throughout
the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Sorenson services include ASL
interpretation for Teams, events, livestream, and Video on Demand
needs.
“We are excited to partner with Sorenson and bring the power of
play to even more people with the new Xbox ASL Twitch channel,”
shared Anita Mortaloni, Director of Accessibility at Xbox. “At
Xbox, we understand the importance of continuing to innovate when
it comes to accessibility, and this partnership with Sorenson is
another step toward ensuring everyone can experience the joys and
connection of gaming.”
About Sorenson Sorenson taps the power of
language for human relationships to thrive. As one of the world’s
leading language services providers and the world’s leading
provider of accessible communication for Deaf and hard-of-hearing
people, Sorenson combines patented technology with human-centric
services to connect signed and spoken languages. Sorenson offers
caption and video relay services, over-video and in-person sign
language and spoken language interpreting, real-time event
captioning services, and post-production language services. For
more information on how we advance human connection,
visit www.sorenson.com or es.sorenson.com.
About MicrosoftMicrosoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”
@microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an
intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to
empower every person and every organization on the planet to
achieve more.
Press Contact
Ann Bardsley
Director of Public Relations
Sorenson 801-287-9400
abardsley@sorenson.com
Press Contact
Gaming for Everyone, for Xbox
gamingforeveryone@assemblyinc.com