Video games studios around the world commit to implement green activations highlighting need for conservation and restoration of forests and oceans
The Playing for the Planet Alliance today launched the second-annual Green Game Jam, bringing together the biggest names in video games across PC, mobile and console to educate and empower millions of players to act for nature.
More than 25 studios from around the world, including teams from Ubisoft, Mojang Studios, Niantic, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Ustwo Games, will collaborate and commit to implementing green activations* in and out-of-game such as new modes, maps, themed events, storylines and messaging. Guiding the studios is a theme centered around conserving and restoring forests and oceans, and submissions for this year’s Jam include:
On the player side, two pledge campaigns have been set up that empower game communities to take action. Play4Forests is focused on conserving and restoring forests in areas such as the Amazon, the Congo Basin and South East Asia, while Glowing, Glowing Gone is a campaign concentrating on the protection of coral reefs, home to a quarter of all marine life, through climate and ocean action. Participants will call on their communities to engage with these campaigns, and the petitions will be presented to world leaders at future UN Summits including COP26, the UN’s Climate Summit, later this year.
The Green Game Jam is launched today in line with World Environment Day on 5th June, with the winners announced on the 25th June 2021. The activations will be judged across five categories including a “Player’s Choice” award for the first time this year - gaming communities will be able to vote on their favourite activation from 16th June 2021.
“Since the Playing for the Planet Alliance was established in 2019, we’ve witnessed the power of the gaming industry when rolling up its sleeves and collaborating as a creative force, regardless of which competitors are sitting around the table,” said Sam Barratt, Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy at the UN Environment Programme, which facilitates the Playing for the Planet Alliance. “The Green Game Jam 2021 has over double the number of studio participants than its pilot first year and with PC and console now involved, the scale of this annual activation has stepped up multiple notches. In addition to vast global reach, this year’s participants are also creating an example for how other areas of the private sector can coalesce around a shared issue and engage with the greatest environmental challenges of our time.”
Inspired by the Green Game Jam, Playing for the Planet Alliance member and Tencent Games subsidiary, TiMi Studio Group, along with Tencent Institute of Games, is hosting a Green Game Jam for Youth, aimed at students around the world. The initiative will engage over 300 universities across China, North America and Southeast Asia, with the winners announced in October.
The 2nd Annual Green Game Jam launched today with the winners announced on 28th June, for all information visit: https://playing4theplanet.org/green-game-jam-2021.
Notes to editors*new features and messaging implemented by participating companies, which highlight environmental themes such as conservation and restoration.
Participating Studios / Teams
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America, Creative Mobile OU, E-Line Media, GameDuell, Goodgame Studios, Hinterland Games, MAG Interactive, Mojang Studios, NetEase Games, Niantic, PlayStation Studios Media Molecule, PlayStation Studios Team ASOBI, PerpGames, Rovio Entertainment, ShiftSpace, Sony Interactive Entertainment Platform Team, Space Ape Games, Supercell, Sybo, TiMi Studio Group, Tiramisu, Toppluva, Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Barcelona Mobile, Ubisoft Future Games of London, Ubisoft Mainz, Ubisoft Paris, Ustwo Games, Wildworks, Wooga.
