Xbox's Avatars Will Soon Have a Wheelchair Option

Last month, Sims announced that clothing options for the game’s characters would no longer be restricted by gender. Now Xbox will be the next big name in gaming to offer characters that better reflect the diversity of its players. As The Verge reports, the company’s head, Phil Spencer, confirmed that future generations of Xbox avatars will include a wheelchair option.

Spencer made the announcement over Twitter in response to a couple of tweets suggesting that Xbox introduce a wheelchair feature to their avatars. He tweeted that the update isn’t too "far off," then retweeted a sneak peek of the design.

Virtual avatars have already been embraced by several video game companies (Nintendo recently launched a whole mobile game starring their "Miis"), but Xbox is among the first to include players with disabilities in such a major way. There’s still no word on when the update will be available to users, but Xbox’s newest console will be hitting stores in August. 

[h/t The Verge]

All images courtesy of Xbox via Twitter.