The video game industry, with 3 billion players, holds immense power for games industry climate action. Its unique engagement can influence global environmental awareness.
This sector’s potential to educate and mobilize audiences on critical environmental issues surpasses traditional media like TV or film. Sam Barratt, chief of youth, education and advocacy at the UN Environment Programme and co-founder of the Playing for the Planet Alliance, emphasized this point.
As Barratt highlighted on GamesIndustry.biz, solutions to complex crises are often “othered to others.” Yet, the games industry could achieve far more than many realize by leveraging its unique position and reach.
Engaging players for real-world impact
The gaming world is proving its capacity to translate virtual engagement into tangible environmental benefits. Initiatives like the Green Game Jam have directly led to millions of trees being planted and hundreds of millions of players engaging with critical climate issues. This demonstrates a clear pathway from digital interaction to real-world restoration and conservation.
Connecting the latest scientific data to game development is also a key bridge being built. Sony’s Climate Station, for instance, integrates over 100 years of IPCC climate data into a game, allowing millions of PlayStation players to learn about complex climate science interactively. Such tools help visualize future scenarios, making abstract threats more relatable and actionable.
As National Geographic Explorer Dr. Tom Matthews noted at a recent Green Games Summit, extreme weather events are no longer distant fears but current realities, from Hurricane Melissa’s impact on Jamaica to record Himalayan snowfall. Games can help us anticipate and prepare for these challenges by making difficult-to-imagine futures concrete.
The science of sustainable play
While many in the games sector intuitively believe in the power of games to educate, concrete evidence backing behavioral outcomes has historically been scarce. However, new research is changing this perception. Behavioral scientists from the University of Oxford presented compelling findings at the Green Games Summit, showcasing the industry’s potential.
Professor Stefania Innocenti and her team spent three years exploring how games can genuinely alter player behavior, particularly concerning food choices. Their study, conducted with Media Molecule, involved four game versions testing environmental and social messages. Results from over 4,000 players in a simulated online supermarket were striking: players exposed to “green” game versions purchased 20% more sustainable items.
This research, detailed in a University of Oxford report, provides robust evidence that well-designed games can influence real-world decisions without detracting from gameplay, provided the messaging is integrated naturally and not overtly didactic. It reinforces the industry’s role as a powerful tool for positive change, even as it navigates economic headwinds like studio closures and game cancellations.
The ongoing commitment to a greener industry, alongside collaborations with other creative sectors such as the Music for Climate Pact, underscores a collective realization. The games industry is uniquely positioned not just to entertain, but to be a significant driver in the global effort towards environmental sustainability, proving that the game for our planet is far from over.
