Playing for the Planet

Calling all green storytellers and coders, sustainability managers and strategists! We know that not everyone can join our flagship Green Game Jam initiative, and we want to celebrate the great work you do year round - in your games, in your tech and in your studios. That’s why we’re opening applications NOW to the entire games ecosystem for the inaugural Playing for the Planet Awards, celebrating the work of the games industry towards: ✅sustainability within the practice of making and distributing games ✅integration of green storytelling within the games themselves ✅leadership on the topic of environmental action Winners will receive an engraved trophy made from recycled materials, cross promotion through the Alliance social media network as well as opportunities for further promotion through our partners. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/g6tu5pip 

Calling all green storytellers and coders, sustainability managers and strategists! We know that not everyone can join our flagship Green Game Jam initiative, and we want to celebrate the great work you do year round - in your games, in your tech and in your studios. That’s why we’re opening applications NOW to the entire games ecosystem for the inaugural Playing for the Planet Awards, celebrating the work of the games industry towards: ✅sustainability within the practice of making and distributing games ✅integration of green storytelling within the games themselves ✅leadership on the topic of environmental action Winners will receive an engraved trophy made from recycled materials, cross promotion through the Alliance social media network as well as opportunities for further promotion through our partners. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/g6tu5pip 

This year's #GreenGameJam engages players on environmental themes by encouraging them to take one small action for the planet. Deepening engagement by small, incremental wins can be more effective than trying to process the big picture. Let's take a look at some examples currently live... 🔎 June's Journey from Wooga have spent the year engaging their tightly-knit community, rewarding players for sharing photos caring for green spaces, as well as their plant-based and/or low-waste recipes. More will be coming from 9th - Sep 17th - so if you're a June's Journey fan, look out! 🚇 Between 26th August and 15th September, Subway Surfers from SYBO are showing players the big impact switching to plant-based meals can make. Players can unlock in-game rewards by sharing their vegetarian meals on socials, and find veggie ingredients in-game to unlock a new mascot. 🦬 Until 19th September, The Oregon Trail: Boom Town will explore modern food waste through a historical lens in their activation about the great Western bison. Learn about frontier settlers' over-consumption of bison on the trails, and protect this famous beast from extinction. 🦛 At the same time, another Tilting Point title Narcos: Cartel Wars will tell the strange story of Colombia's invasive hippo species until 19th September. Players will learn about invasive species and the non-lethal ways of controlling them, and be invited to consider invasive species in their own local ecosystems. These actions may seem small compared to the big problems we face. But together, and repeated, they can inspire people to do more and more - and changing what we do and why we do it is how culture shifts. Find out about this year's #GreenGameJam here: https://lnkd.in/eaMCKHFi

We'll be kicking off the #GreenGameJam on Monday 9th September! From mystery-solving with Love and Pies and June's Journey to multiplayer battles in PUBG MOBILE and Drive Ahead!, there's something for everyone in this year's cohort. Discover how and when your favourite game is getting involved: https://lnkd.in/eaMCKHFi

If you're headed to @gamescom this weekend, keep your eyes peeled for Playing for the Planet's Epix quest beacons around the show floor. Give them a scan to start the quest, learn about sustainable gaming, and bag yourself some special prizes from our members at Xbox, Ubisoft, and Bandai Namco Europe... 👀

Did you know switching to even just one plant-based meal per week can have a significant positive impact on the environment? 🌽 🥑 🥕 🍅 Today, SYBO announced "Veggie Hunt," a limited edition in-game event within Subway Surfers that aims to encourage its community to eat more meat-free meals to contribute to a greener planet. Launched as part of the Playing for the Planet Alliance's Green Game Jam, Veggie Hunt challenges players to collect various vegetable ingredients including tomatoes, lettuce, and avocados as they run. Once a player has collected enough ingredients to create a full veggie burger, they'll unlock all-new, veggie-themed rewards. Read more by Rachel Kaser on VentureBeat 🗞

Narcos: Cartel Wars is joining the Green Game Jam 2024, organized by the Playing for the Planet Alliance, with an exciting, limited-time event—the Hippo Run Challenge! 🦛💥 This year’s theme is "Small Actions, Big Impact," and we’re bringing it to life in a big way! During the event, your Narcos bases are thrown into chaos—animals are on the loose, and dirt is everywhere! It’s up to YOU to keep your operations clean 👀 and demonstrate how even the smallest actions can drive significant change. 🌍✨ Ready to rise to the challenge? 💪 Play here: https://tpgames.co/narcos

Greta Thunberg talks about "cathedral thinking" as a response to climate change, saying we "must lay the foundation while we may not know exactly how to build the ceiling.” In the shadow's of Cologne's impressive cathedral, it feels like strong foundations are being set in terms of sustainability in games. My take-aways from this week are: 1) Things are moving in China: Good discussions with Tencent Games on what more can be done within their group with discussions set to take place with a wider network of Chinese studios later this year. 2) Upstream work with engines: Interesting discussions around what more gaming engines can do with Unity and Unreal Engine, generating a double-dividend saving gamers money and reducing emissions too. 3) This is a community that cares: In the 40+ meetings we had in the last 3 days, what came through really strongly is that the video games industry does care and is committed to act. Imperfect action that is open to learning and collaborating with others, beats one steeped in perfection. 4) Carbon calculators: More and more will come out in the coming months (we have one in beta-testing at the moment) we'll look to do a summary so studios can consider + / - of each. Calculators are critical, but what matters most is the action that follows. 5) Ideas, ideas, ideas: There are so many new ideas, opportunities and things to consider that came off the back of this week, plans for 2025 look like they could be the best yet. Thanks to Lisa Pak Alex Avard & Louisa Keight for all the hard work to Felix Falk for all the support Game gives to Playing for the Planet and, to friends old and new, see you next year.

We were delighted to be back on the gamescom Opening Night Live show floor this week to present the 2024 gamescom sustainability award to Tencent Games! Want to know how each year's winners are decided? You can find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eBEjdA7z

Did you know switching to even just one plant-based meal per week can have a significant positive impact on the environment? 🌽 🥑 🥕 🍅 Today, SYBO announced "Veggie Hunt," a limited edition in-game event within Subway Surfers that aims to encourage its community to eat more meat-free meals to contribute to a greener planet. Launched as part of the Playing for the Planet Alliance's Green Game Jam, Veggie Hunt challenges players to collect various vegetable ingredients including tomatoes, lettuce, and avocados as they run. Once a player has collected enough ingredients to create a full veggie burger, they'll unlock all-new, veggie-themed rewards. Read more by Rachel Kaser on VentureBeat 🗞