Accessibility in video games and digital development has been a pending issue for years. However, With the launch of Chroma, Ubisoft is at the forefront of creating inclusive experiences for users with color blindness.This tool has been designed not only to revolutionize accessibility testing in games, but also to open up new possibilities for developers, artists, and professionals in other sectors.
Chroma has gone from being an internal solution to a open source project available to everyoneWhat exactly is it? Why is it so important in today's industry? We'll tell you here.
What is Chroma and why does it make a difference?
Chroma is a real-time color blindness simulator developed by Ubisoft, born with the goal of making life easier for users with any degree of color change. The main premise is simple but powerful: apply filters that replicate three main variants of color blindness –protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia– directly affect the user experience in video games or other visual applications, without affecting performance or graphics quality.
The new thing about Chroma is its real-time operation on the moving content itselfUntil now, accessibility for people with color blindness was often tested using static images or imprecise methods. Chroma allows you to experience the game or software just as a colorblind user would during a real-life game, making it even more useful for both testing and creative development.
How Chroma Works: The Technology Behind the Simulation
The simulation engine Chroma It is based on the recognized Color Oracle algorithm, widely used to represent color perception disturbances reliably and validly. This ensures that the applied filters accurately reproduce the real-life visual experiences of those with color blindness, allowing developers and creators to tailor their products with complete confidence.
One of Chroma's technical strengths It is your system that operates on live content and supports up to 60 FPS, regardless of the game engine or platform. Does not require complex integrations with the software nor does it limit the creative freedom of teams, which speeds up implementation at any stage of development.
Among the features most praised by professionals are:
- universal compatibility: It works on any game or visual application, without depending on specific graphics engines.
- High performance: The simulation is performed in real time, allowing for the detection of problems with virtually no lag or delays.
- Accurate results: thanks to the use of Color Oracle and continuous optimization based on expert feedback.
- Intuitive and configurable interface: facilitates instant screenshots, filter comparisons, and custom adjustments.
Advantages of Chroma for industry and developers
Chroma represents A notable qualitative leap for accessibility in video games and any visual content where color is decisiveFrom independent studios to large companies, everyone can benefit from its use, transforming accessibility from an add-on to a natural part of the creative process.
The main advantages for development teams and the industry in general are:
- Agile evaluation: It allows you to identify and correct design decisions that may hinder the experience of colorblind players, ranging from user interfaces to digital art, educational software, and even film.
- Easy integration: Since it is open source and cross-platform, any studio can implement it into their testing routines from the initial phases of the project.
- Advanced customization: Thanks to the simulation options and flexible interface configuration, it adapts to a multitude of scenarios and needs.
- Positive impact on the overall experience: It improves the satisfaction of a significant portion of the gaming community—around 8% of men and 0,5% of women experience some form of color shift—making them feel part of the target audience from the very first minute.
What benefits does Chroma offer in real-life use?
Since its release as open source, Chroma has been celebrated and adopted by developers around the worldThe tool integrates into key areas such as interface design (UI), digital art, cinematics, and even other industries like film and education. Thanks to its instant filtering, creators can visually check whether a graphic element will be understandable to colorblind users, avoiding errors before reaching the final product.
For testers and quality assurance managers, Chroma represents a radical change: What previously took hours of manual review is now resolved in a matter of minutes, allowing greater depth and agility in identifying accessibility problems.
An open source project accessible to everyone
One of the great milestones of Chroma is that, from April 2025, It is available for free and open source via GithubAny interested studio, independent developer, digital artist, or professional can download it, implement it, and, if they wish, contribute to its future improvement.
Ubisoft expressly encourages the community to provide suggestions, report incidents and propose technical improvementsThe open source philosophy ensures that Chroma's evolution will be in the hands of the entire industry. And that benefits both creators and end users.
You don't need specific hardware or advanced knowledge to take advantage of this tool.; all you need is a compatible development environment and access to the distribution platform.
Global involvement and commitment to accessibility
Chroma is not a one-off effort. Interest in accessibility has grown significantly in recent years in the video game and interactive software industry. Big names like Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo or EA have increased their commitment to accessible options and hardware, with initiatives such as the Accessible Games Initiative launched at GDC 2025.
Despite this favorable context, Creating specialized and reliable tools remained a challenge until the arrival of ChromaUbisoft's offering stands out for its precision, speed, and ease of integration, setting a precedent for future developments in the sector.
It's worth noting that the public launch of Chroma has generated a very positive reaction. The ability to design with empathy and precision gives the professional community an unprecedented capacity for inclusion. in the recent history of digital entertainment.
Technical challenges and evolution of the tool
During the creation process, developers of Chroma had to face important challenges. Above all, those related to real-time performance and the reliability of color filtering. Identifying the right algorithm and eliminating lag and inaccuracies were critical steps in achieving a tool that met the high standards demanded by the industry.
Thanks to direct collaboration with experts and continuous improvement based on real feedback, A solution was achieved that allows for experimenting and testing accessibility efficiently and without visual errors.The Ubisoft team cites as an example that accessibility checking could previously take hours, whereas now the process is practically instantaneous.
Thanks to Chroma and the active participation of the entire industry, accessibility is not a destination, but a process in which every step forward counts. We are facing a present and a future in which Anyone will be able to enjoy video games and digital software without color barriers or exclusions. Chroma is a great first step in that direction.