On March 4, 2019, the accessibility community mourned a prominent advocate: Susan Banks. Banks’ partner, Coty Craven, announced her passing on social media platforms such as Twitter/X. The industry lamented the loss of an individual that helped raise awareness for accessibility in games, particularly for Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
Banks’ death marked a significant loss for the video game accessibility community. She regularly interacted with developers from studios like Ubisoft and The Coalition, pushing for better options and designs. She helped to revolutionize games journalism through the creation of Can I Play That, a site dedicated to the coverage of accessibility and the disabled perspective. An award was even named after her posthumously, to be given to disabled individuals in games that uplift their communities and educate others on the importance of accessibility.
However, in the years since Banks’ alleged death, mounting evidence and accounts from those close to her work suggest that she was not the person she claimed to be. In fact, some are convinced that Banks may never have existed at all.
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