Sony announces accessibility controller kit, Project Leonardo

Sony had a handful announcements during its CES 2023 conference regarding PlayStation 5 and PSVR2. One of the new projects they revealed was a highly customizable accessibility controller kit for PlayStation 5 named ‘Project Leonardo.

PlayStation teamed up with organizations like Stack Up, AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and others to make the best accessibility controller they can. 

“We’ve designed a highly configurable controller that works in tandem with many third-party accessibility accessories and integrates with the PS5 console to open up new ways of gaming. It is built to address common challenges faced by many players with limited motor control, including difficulty holding a controller for long periods, accurately pressing small clusters of buttons or triggers, or positioning thumbs and fingers optimally on a standard controller.”

Here are some of the customizable features:

Hardware customizations. Project Leonardo for PS5 is a canvas for gamers to craft their own play experience. It includes a robust kit of swappable components, including a variety of analog stick caps and buttons in different shapes and sizes.

Software customizations

• Button mapping
  • The controller’s buttons can be programmed to any supported function and multiple buttons can be mapped to the same function. Conversely, players can map two functions (like “R2” + “L2”) onto the same button.

• Control profiles
  • Players can store their programmed button settings as control profiles and easily switch between them by pressing the profile button.
  • Up to three control profiles can be stored and accessed by the player from their PS5 console at any time.

Project Leonardo is still in development and does not have a release window just yet, but it’s great to see Sony get involved to allow everyone the chance to play on a PlayStation console. 

Source: PlayStation Blog