Ubisoft has launched Chroma, a free and open-source tool designed as an all-in-one solution for identifying color blindness-related issues in games. It allows developers to simulate how their games appear to players with three major types of color vision deficiency: Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia. Chroma works by applying filters that replicate these conditions over running games on screen, helping developers flag accessibility concerns in real time.
Chroma was originally developed for internal use at Ubisoft to support the accessibility team in conducting complex visual tests. Development began in 2021, with the initial work carried out by Ubisoft's Quality Control team in India.
According to David Tisserand, Director of Accessibility, the tool has proven highly effective, making it quicker and easier to evaluate how accessible Ubisoft's games are for colorblind players. Recognizing the tool's value, Ubisoft has made Chroma publicly available, allowing developers to integrate it into their workflow and use it to ensure their games can be enjoyed by a wider audience. Ubisoft also encourages feedback and community contributions to guide the tool's ongoing development.
Chroma is compatible with all games, as it runs as a standalone application and doesn't rely on any specific game engine. According to Ubisoft, it is the only currently available solution capable of capturing and simulating color vision deficiencies during live gameplay, offering high performance and accurate results. The tool supports real-time simulation at up to 60 frames per second. In addition, Chroma offers the ability to easily screenshot problematic moments and features a user-friendly, configurable interface.
Chroma's source code is provided under the permissive open-source Apache-2.0 license. An installer is available to simplify the setup process, though it appears to be available only for Windows at this time.
For more information, visit the tool's GitHub repository. To download the installer, be sure to check the Releases folder.
