Episode 48 - Greening the video game industry with Ben Abraham and Maria Wagner

Maria Wagner, SGA Managing Director, and Dr Benjamin Abram, SGA Research and Standard Lead discuss the gaming industry environmental footprint with Gaël Duez in E48 of the Green IO podcast.

🎧Listen to Episode 48 here.

Gaming industry specifics

Overall, the gaming industry is quite unique compared to other sub-sectors of the tech industry. It has a direct and strong connection with users, and a very global-wide reach. The value chain is complex and there is a specific creative angle too, as the software industry combines with the digital arts industry.

Green IT

Sound metrics are not yet available but it is estimated that 20-50 million tons of Carbon emissions p.a. are accumulated through playing games. So as Ben says, “…the idea that the games industry globally has a footprint probably the size of a country like Sweden” is not yet common knowledge.

The gaming ecosystem extends across the development, production and distribution processes. There is also the role of end users with their individual behavior and personal devices. This complex ecosystem gives rise to difficulties in calculating C emissions and other related environmental impacts.

Calculating emissions

There are two main problems. First, the numbers don’t add up (if there are any numbers to add up in the first place) and proper disclosure is not commonplace. The second is that there is not a real actionable gaming industry strategy on how to achieve net zero. Underlying these two problems is the complexity of the value chain and the lack of joined-up thinking. In addition, current reporting mechanisms such as ESRS are not adapted for the industry.

Positive actions at industry level

Both Ben and Maria have several ideas on greening the industry:

-   New games & upgrades to be supported on older hardware

-   Procure renewable electricity

-   Collaborate & share best practice (e.g., idle state functions)

-   Be story-aware

-   Explore the gaming ecosystem and connect with others

-   Games can be attractive without the ‘pixel perfect’ attitude

-   Join the SGA to learn more about ‘green gaming’

Positive actions at gamer level

Personal actions include:

-   Opting for renewable electricity contracts

-   Questioning ourselves - as a gamer, do we really need the latest hardware?

-   Use our voice: Open up the discussion and demand transparency

Ben agrees, yet stresses that it is important to be aware of the prevailing context, as the industry constantly strives to develop and progress aiming for better gaming performance, which locks users into a constant hardware upgrade cycle.

Tools under development

Luckily the SGA is on a mission to produce a methodological standard for measuring and collecting data, and calculating emissions produced across the entire ecosystem. The idea is that it will be an open-source plug and play tool. Overall, their goal is to help the games industry to comply with CSRD and create a positive gaming experience for designers, producers, distributors and gamers alike.

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