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Matt Knutson, Assistant Professor of Esports, University of North Dakota

How people with disabilities got game − the surprisingly long history of access to arcade and video sports

Many of today's disabled esports players, like Rocky "RockyNoHands" Stoutenburgh, use mouth controllers, which were first used in gaming over 40 years ago. Rocky "RockyNoHands" Stoutenburgh, CC BY-SA

If you’ve seen an esports competition, chances are that there was a big stage with about 10 gaming PCs, each with a young person behind it wearing a look of intense concentration. They may have been competing for upward of a million dollars, and at the moment of victory, the winning team suddenly started screaming in joy.

Some of those esports players are people with disabilities. Today, esports organizations such as Permastunned and Para Esports shine a spotlight on the accomplishments of competitors with disabilities. They also attract industry support from big-name sponsors.

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