In this Nov. 3, 2017, photo, visitors play FIFA 18 video game on Playstation 4 Pro at the Paris Games Week in Paris. Gaming is going green. Companies behind PlayStation, Xbox, Angry Birds, Minecraft, Twitch and other video games and platforms pledged Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, at the U.N. to level up efforts to fight climate change and get their throngs of users involved.
“I believe games and gamers can be a force for social change and would love to see our global community unite to help our planet survive and thrive,” Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly gathering of world leaders. The “Playing for the Planet” pledges come from an industry that isn’t always seen as nurturing societal good.
Microsoft plans to make 825,000 Xbox consoles that are carbon neutral or don’t cause any net increases in heat-trapping carbon dioxide and to promote real-life sustainability activities through its massive-selling game Minecraft. Google’s upcoming Stadia streaming service is financing research on how people can be inspired to change their behavior through games.