Untapped potential of gaming

Catalyzed by covid and the lockdown our family decided to get a PlayStation console. After about a year of trying to limit screen time with varying degrees of success one thing became clear: games were here to stay. A turning point for me as a parent was accepting this fact, so I decided to join them rather than fight over screentime. Sharing an interest with my kids allowed me to better monitor and steer their gaming (and time spent on it). While I’m not the most avid gamer, I have tried my hand at most of the games our kids play and also simply watched them play. This has allowed me to explore, learn and engage with our kids. And let me tell you, some of the best games are absolutely amazing worlds of creativity that captivate you. But the best part is sharing. Being able to listen and engage when your child tells you about something they are really excited about. I’ve listened to 1-hour monologues about Fortnite, Pokémon Go, Zelda and Genshin Impact to name a few when we have been out on walks together (many times looking for Pokémon) ;-)

“Why is Rasmus talking about videogames?”, you might ask. Because they matter and more importantly: because they could matter even more. There are 3.2 billion gamers worldwide (Online Gaming Statistics and Facts: The Definitive Guide (2024) by Jasmine Katatikarn) and this is growing rapidly. Popular games like Fortnite have around 650 million registered players.

Where are these gamers and who are they? There’s lots of stats on this but the key point is this: All types of people, ages and backgrounds are represented. However, 18-35 year olds are much more likely to be gamers. The most important point though is that gamer distribution globally is likely to correlate strongly with greenhouse gas emissions and higher consumption more generally. So, isn’t there an amazing opportunity to target exactly who we need to for collective behavior change to help get us out of the climate, biodiversity and other sustainability crises we are in?

I’ve seen very little written or spoken about this topic and opportunity (I may just be in a different bubble). On the flip side, I do see a lot of attention paid to the direct impacts of gaming. In other words, energy use, renewable energy solutions, efficient data centers, energy efficient code and even using AI to improve on these direct impact metrics. It’s great that large corporates such as Nintendo , Sony Interactive Entertainment , Epic Games or Supercell are starting to address these negative impacts. But that’s just a drop in the ocean when you think about the potential to have a positive impact across this huge demographic.

Now there absolutely are people out there designing sustainable or environmentally conscious games. Let me be controversial though by saying that they are generally a bit clunky and probably best suited for educational contexts (in other words people have to play them instead of choosing to). Imagine what these design studios could do with a proper budget though! Even better than imagining, check out Genshin Impact by HoYoverse or Horizon by Guerrilla . These are the current best-in-class examples I've seen but difficult to apply to all games ideas and classes.

There is a middle ground that I do not think has been explored yet, at least not in a structured, purposeful and ambitious way. Could we not embed sustainability principles into the explicit and implicit messaging that games convey throughout the product design process. In essence, the gaming industry needs to better integrate and embed sustainability into their strategy and operations. This can be in wholesale transformation of a storyline down to simple choices of how characters or the worlds they inhabit behave.

Imagine if Minecraft by Mojang Studios integrated (extreme) weather in their sandbox. Fortnite only had electric vehicles. Genshin Impact had more diverse characters. Pokémon had real species that are rare or endangered. Mario Kart had more racetracks through wild places.

You could go even further, but the point is to not alienate gamers. Few people are looking for a lesson in morality when they play and many games are in fact outlets to deal with the more horrific facets of life. Also, some gaming communities can be very fickle. In these cases, there is a tightrope to walk, but the key is to at least provide options and not forcing certain character choices or interactions in the game. A key word here is normalizing. Doing this right could have a huge influence on a generation that is going to decide on our future either through their own individual consumption, how they vote, or as leaders. The gaming industry should think hard about what role they want to play and how to do it in a smart way. The same way many other industries have already done in tackling their downstream Scope 3 emissions or maximizing their positive handprint.

If you have examples of where this kind of thinking is taking place, best in class examples or ideas please share them in the comments. I’d love to learn more!