Rocket League Can Now Be Played With a Power Wheelchair

Rocket League has been a huge success and attracted a variety of gamers, however, not everyone has been able to play the game. Game Awards’ Global Gaming Citizen, Stephen Spohn and ATMakers have now teamed up to create a way to plug a power wheelchair into an Xbox Adaptive Controller so that players can enjoy Rocket League with their wheelchair joystick. While the controller is yet to be made adaptable to every wheelchair and device, the news has been welcomed by the gaming community as an exciting prospect.

Rocket League has entertained players with its rocket-powered cars and sport based competition. The ariel tactics, that are encouraged by the game, has led to sensational goals and with a variety of game modes players seem to be returning for more regularly. The news about the power wheelchair controller has excited fans who would otherwise have difficulty playing the game.

The hardware that allows players to plug in a controller to their wheelchair is called a Freedom Wing Adaptor. Co-founder of ATMakers, Bill Blinko, claimed that the wheelchair joystick being used as a gaming controller was a logic transition. Blinko explained that players have already become used to controlling a chair via a joystick and it “Turns out, it’s a really great way to get gaming to someone who uses a power chair”. While Rocket League has witnessed many impressive achievements,  being a source of inspiration for this innovation may be one of its greatest.

There has been a fair amount of positive press surrounding Rocket League and, unsurprisingly, a hugely popular game has inspired people to make a real difference. The technology can be used on any game on the Xbox or PC in theory. All players have to do is disconnect their joystick and attach it to the small box that is the Freedom Wing Adaptor. While it is not quite clear which wheelchairs are compatible with the technology, Ablegamers are working on providing a comprehensive list and many will hope that it includes plenty of power wheelchairs.

The FWA looks like a cheap way to allow players with wheelchairs to enjoy games quickly and easily. Stephen Spohn has said that “I want to underscore 2020 brought us the year when someone can drive their wheelchair up to an Xbox and plug it in”. It looks like Spohn is well on the way to achieving his vision and with Rocket League cross-play, wheelchair users of other consoles will want to hit this milestone on their consoles too.

MORE: PS4 Cross-Play ‘Open For Business’ Despite Slow Progress