A climate change gaming partnership has been announced by the United Nations. Sony, Microsoft, Google, and a boatload of other gaming publishers and developers will be working together to reduce carbon emissions and stop our lovely little pale blue dot from going down the drain.
We now know the who and the why, but one important item remains: the how. How exactly are all of these tech and gaming companies going to help save the planet?
How Will Gaming Help Save the Planet?
Unsurprisingly, the bigger companies already have some climate change countermeasures in effect; part of this commitment entails an expansion of those strategies. Sony Interactive Entertainment, for example, is on track to entirely avoid nearly 30 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2030 from within their company. Sony further expanded that it's taken action in a new post, which spoke about the PlayStation 5 having a suspend mode that saves more power. Microsoft is expanding its existing commitment to carbon neutrality, and Google is producing a "Sustainable Game Development Guide" in addition to their existing programs.That's not to say that smaller companies won't be able to help out! Some companies will be promoting "green" themes in their games, while other companies (like Twitch) will use their media presence to push a message of combating climate change. Some companies — notably Supercell and Rovio, two developers with huge chunks of the mobile market — will work to offset carbon footprints related to their community.
Green Man Gaming also put out a press release detailing the efforts they'll be making as part of this initiative: they will be working on a major reforestation initiative beginning in 2020. Or, to put it in simpler terms, they'll be planting a heck of a lot of trees.
The Companies in the Climate Change Gaming Partnership
The list of companies participating was announced in a press release and some of the biggest gaming and tech companies have signed on to a voluntary program to be greener than an O.G. Xbox in a dark room.Here are the companies that have signed up as a part of this commitment:
- Sony Interactive Entertainment
- Microsoft
- Supercell
- Rovio
- Sybo
- Space Ape
- Wild Works
- Green Man Gaming
- Ubisoft
- Sports Interactive
- Creative Mobile
- Reliance Games
- iDreamSky
- E-Line Media
- Strange Loop
- Internet of Elephants
- Twitch
- Niantic Inc
Climate change is a contentious issue for some, but I think we can generally agree that pumping a bunch of carbon into the air is probably not the best idea. Thankfully, a bunch of gaming and tech giants are stepping up to do their share in keeping us cool.
What do you think of the climate change gaming partnership formed by the United Nations? Do you think the various actions of these game developers and tech companies will have a meaningful impact? Let us know in the comments below!
