Ubisoft’s Colorblind Simulation Tool, Chroma, Now Available For Public Use

Chroma, Ubisoft's colorblind simulation tool, is now available for public use after several years of internal use and development. With an estimated 300 million people around the world affected by colorblindness, Chroma allows developers to accurately replicate their experience and create accessible content to meet their needs. The open-source tool works by applying a filter over the game screen without hindering performance.

"Over the past few years, Chroma has proven to be a highly efficient tool for us at Ubisoft," says David Tisserand, Director of Accessibility. "It has allowed us to assess the accessibility of our games for colorblind players much faster and more comprehensively than ever before. Because we believe accessibility is a journey, not a race, we're thrilled to share Chroma with the entire industry. We invite everyone to benefit from it, provide feedback, and contribute to its future development."

Development on Chroma started in 2021 as Ubisoft's Quality Control team based in India worked to create a tool that would provide feedback in real time and allow developers to control the game while simulating color blindness. Today, Chroma uses the Color Oracle algorithm and can be used on dual or single screens; furthermore, it works with hotkeys and has a customizable overlay.

"Chroma was created with a clear purpose---making color blindness accessibility a natural part of the creative and testing process," says Jawad Shakil, QC Product Manager. "The team faced and overcame significant challenges while building it, but through close collaboration with accessibility experts and by refining the tool based on feedback, they created a solution that eliminated lag and inaccuracies, making accessibility testing efficient and smooth. Chroma is a testament to the team's innovation and dedication; their work is already making a difference in how we design games with accessibility in mind. Open-sourcing Chroma is a proud step forward, allowing everyone to benefit from this innovation."

You can check out Chroma here: https://github.com/ubisoft/UbiChroma