Of green gaming and beyond

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https://www.gamegeneration.or.kr/article/550034c6-61ca-49db-8587-7ac8cc27914a

From physical to digital

Since 2020, customers buying a new iPhone no longer have a charger included in the box. According to Apple, this omission was aimed at reducing packaging waste as well as e-waste. The company explained that this move means it has to consume fewer raw materials for each iPhone sold, and it also allows for a smaller retail box, which means 70 percent more units can fit on a single shipping pallet, thereby reducing carbon emissions (Calma, 2020).

Whether this rationalization is authentic or not, the omission signifies a new era of pro-environmental electronic goods. Not only smartphone makers but also manufacturers of washing machines, refrigerators, and microwaves are finding ways to make their products more environmentally friendly or at least more energy efficient. How about one of the largest industries in the world in terms of revenue (US$187 billion worth in 2024), users (~3.32 billion active users), and time (a product can generate three billion hours of entertainment each month) (Ball, 2021; Konvoy Ventures, 2023; Sinclair, 2023; Technavio, 2025)?

The relationship among the video game industry, the digital industries at large, and the environment is not entirely clear-cut. In the physical era of video games, one of the most infamous incidents is the “Atari video game burial,” which now has a dedicated Wikipedia page. In the 2014 book Game After: A Cultural Study of Video Game Afterlife, Raiford Guins detailed the events that occurred around the 1980s and conducted interviews with residents from the location of the landfill (Guins, 2014). Since that landfill legend, the concept of sustainability has circulated in the video game industry regarding how to use less plastic and create more eco-friendly packaging (Martin, 2020). Indeed, the physical appearance of video games in this era helps users understand the relationship between video games and the environment in a more tangible and salient way.

However, as digital stores opened, the Internet became faster, and more gamers chose to download games rather than own a hard copy; the concept of being environmentally friendly in the video game industry has slowly shifted toward carbon footprints and energy consumption. Tracing the cleanliness of energy sources has not been easy. Currently, we know that something is not right, but figuring out precisely what is wrong and how severe it is requires a cumulative effort from all sides: gamers, publishers, designers, policymakers, researchers (Tapsell & Purchese, 2021).

Practically, concerns have been raised. For instance, the in-depth report by Chris Tapsell and Robert Purchese in Eurogamer has provided a comprehensive overview of the issue and how we, as consumers, might strive for more responsible and sustainable gameplay (Tapsell & Purchese, 2021). Moreover, there are movements and initiatives that have been conducted, such as the Green Game Jam, which is a game-making event with the core theme focused on the environment. The term “green gaming” has also started to circulate in various outlets.

Theoretically, what have researchers found about the problem of video games and the environment? And how are academics defining green gaming?

Detour: A little bit about method

In our latest preprint (the manuscript is under review), my colleagues and I conducted a systematic review of 50 documents, including journal articles, books and book chapters, conference proceedings, and dissertations, related to video games and environmental issues (Ho et al., 2024).

We searched for documents using various keywords such as “green gaming” or “ecogames” in several scholarly databases, including Web of Science and Google Scholar, as well as other sources like journal recommender systems. The query returned more than 400 documents. We conducted several rounds of screening by reading titles, then abstracts, and finally full texts, ultimately identifying 50 relevant documents.

Here is what we found.

Main Contributors

Traditional game studies, which are rooted in the discipline of media studies, have contributed significantly to our understanding of video games. The field views video games as a form of text, much like a work of literature or art, that can be theoretically and critically analyzed for deeper insights. Our word analysis of abstracts, titles, and categories suggested this dominance, as most papers are from game studies. Notable works include Playing Nature: Ecology in Video Games (2019) by Alenda Y. Chang and Digital Games After Climate Change (2022) by Benjamin J. Abraham (Abraham, 2022a; Chang, 2019). These books offer important theoretical foundations for understanding the relationship between video games and the environment, as well as the roles that developers, distributors, and customers play in making the video game industry more environmentally friendly. Further explorations can also be found in different chapters from the edited volume Ecogames: Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis (de Beke et al., 2024).

Video games are not only seen as works of art; they are also tools and embodiments of technology. Thus, other fields have also sought to understand the effects of video games on humans (psychology), used video games for educational purposes (education or architecture), or directly contributed to the technology behind video games (computer science). Most papers from computer science discuss various techniques and methods that can potentially make games greener. Cloud gaming has been theoretically suggested as one of the best ways to play games in an environmentally friendly manner (Chuah et al., 2014). However, as we know from the failure of Stadia, the application of cloud gaming has not been successful. Some studies also suggest that cloud gaming merely offloads the energy burden to the data center, which needs to run 24/7 to support game operations (Aslan, 2020; Mills et al., 2019).

Education: From video games to pro-environmental awareness

The defining hardware of video games, the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), has provided sufficient horsepower to simulate reality. Modern technology has recreated reality to the utmost perfection. Humans, ogres, and witches inhabit these lands with their daily routines that are incredibly lifelike. The weather also interacts with you and other non-player characters (NPCs) in a realistic manner: the cold makes you tremble, the rain makes you wet, and the thunder can strike your iron sword. Aside from the technological perspective, the increasing immersion of video games and photorealistic graphics suggests what my teacher hinted at in his studies: a potential for shaping reality and the public's perception. Thus, researchers, scientists, and educators have also recognized this feature. For instance, Jeffrey Fung from the Institute for Advanced Study developed a GPU-based program to simulate solar systems, stars, and planets (Fung, 2020).

Similarly, an important, and probably one of the most significant uses of video games when it comes to environmental issues, is fostering awareness. Researchers have found potential in serious or education games, i.e. games that were made with specific educational games in mind. For instance, Eco (https://play.eco/), which began as a Kickstarter project and later received funding from the U.S. Department of Education, creates a scenario where players must work together to avert a predicted meteor collision while maintaining ecological balance. Consequently, the finite resources and external impacts designed into Eco contribute to a realistic gameplay experience that reflects genuine developmental challenges (Fjællingsdal & Klöckner, 2019). Researchers have also assessed the effects of serious games, commercial games, satirical games, and gamified applications on encouraging gamers to adopt pro-environmental behaviors. Designed to promote awareness of environmental issues and the dangers of exploitation, these games have been found to have a moderate impact on translating in-game sustainable skills into everyday real-life actions, as they positively influence players' awareness (Boncu et al., 2022).

More recently, studies have been conducted using commercially successful titles as research sites. Crowley et al. (2021) used the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 to study the educational aspects of the game. The researchers tested players' and non-players' knowledge of the wildlife species depicted in the game. Interaction with the species inside the virtual world helped players identify more species, especially ungulates and fish. Players actually learn and remember names, habitats, and even sounds of fish when they catch a lot of them in video games. Another perspective is the observation that gamers, even in a virtual space, are naturally drawn to locations with high levels of green vegetation and rate these areas more positively (Truong et al., 2018).

Video games are more than playing

Apart from computer science, which directly focuses on the technical aspects behind video games, most disciplines study one specific aspect of video games: playing. Video games have been considered a new art form that holds up to scrutiny like films or literature (Gee, 2006). However, for films or literature, the acts of reading a book or watching a movie are translatable across different individuals. The interpretation of meaning may differ, yet the act of consuming itself is synchronized across individuals. Meanwhile, playing video games can involve different understandings among individuals with varying setups, preferences, and genres. For instance, playing Call of Duty offers a very different experience compared to Candy Crush.

Consequently, researchers from traditional game studies have been critically examining the act of playing video games to provide a deeper understanding of our engagement with them. For instance, when gamers immerse themselves in virtual worlds like Red Dead Redemption 2 or World of Warcraft, their gameplay can lead to unexpected learning (Crowley et al., 2021; Truong et al., 2018). Moreover, even though there is an intended way to play any game, gamers will always find new ways to engage—through speedrunning (completing a game as fast as possible), challenges (completing games using only one mechanic), and modding (changing appearances or creating new games). These actions are derivatives of playing; however, they embody the endless and boundless creativity inherent in video games (Lamerichs, 2024; Scully-Blaker, 2024).

The more gamers engage with video games, the more possibilities there are to think about them differently. Hence, researchers are also evolving in their perspectives on both video games and the gaming industry as a whole (Abraham, 2022a; Fizek, 2024). Moving away from a singular focus on gameplay, researchers are beginning to examine the industry with more questions directed at developers, regulations, and publishers. For instance, in the book Digital Games After Climate Change, Benjamin J. Abraham breaks down the carbon footprint of video games—from production to distribution and finally to when gamers play (Abraham, 2022a). Accordingly, Abraham suggests that video games need to consider themselves within a larger context regarding their effects on the world—both positive and negative.

Indeed, studies that focus especially on the hardware of video games are rare. In 2019, Evan Mills and his colleagues found a severe lack of technical research, energy policies, computer energy labeling programs and standards, and regulations regarding the energy usage of video game hardware (Mills et al., 2019). Consequently, our understanding of the actual environmental impacts of video game consumption remains limited.

Green Gaming

In 2019, I started spending a significant amount of time traversing the world of Breath of the Wild. Then, during the lockdown, the island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons provided me with a comforting sanctuary filled with mundane tasks like fishing, planting trees, and flowers. According to a definition of ‘green gaming’ from Colin Milburn, these games can be categorized as “the games of environmental control”, in which players can directly control and manipulate the environment (Milburn, 2018). Throughout the short history of game studies, researchers have used different terms interchangeably with ‘green gaming’ to describe video games and environmental issues: ‘ecogames,’ ‘ecological games,’ ‘sustainable games,’ or ‘climate change games’ (Abraham, 2022b; Abraham & Jayemanne, 2017; de Beke et al., 2024). Nevertheless, these terms are usually confined within academic contexts and—as we have described above—are heavily focused on the act of playing.

Researchers such as Benjamin J. Abraham and Evan Mills are among the rare voices advocating for a fresh perspective that extends gaming into a more comprehensive activity involving producing and distributing software, choosing specific hardware, as well as considering a wide range of users’ preferences and behaviors. Indeed, from a practical perspective, if you search for ‘green gaming’ on Google, the first result is likely from HowStuffWorks, which mainly focuses on saving energy while gaming, recycling hardware, and raising environmental awareness through gameplay (Watson, n.d.). Thus, researchers may need a new perspective on green gaming that encompasses not only playing video games but also producing, choosing, purchasing, and consuming hardware and software. Therefore, “green gaming refers to the environmentally conscious production, purchase, and consumption of both hardware and software for video games. Developers and gamers’ behaviors in this context are driven not only by a desire to fulfill entertainment needs but also by a commitment to societal welfare, particularly regarding environmental sustainability and resource conservation” (Ho et al., 2024).

It is only recently, in light of the severity of climate change and other environmental issues happening before our eyes, that we have come to realize the need to reconsider our environmental impacts, even in our daily activities. Scientific research regarding video games and their environmental effects has been somewhat narrow and unsatisfactory. Regardless, video games are a dominant form of entertainment for younger generations. Thus, the question is no longer about the potential of video games but rather about more real and practical findings on how to produce, choose, purchase, consume, and play video games responsibly.

References

Abraham, B. J. (2022a). Digital Games After Climate Change. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91705-0

Abraham, B. J. (2022b). What Is an Ecological Game? In B. J. Abraham (Ed.), Digital Games After Climate Change (pp. 61-88). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91705-0_3

Abraham, B. J., & Jayemanne, D. (2017). Where are all the climate change games? Locating digital games? response to climate change. Transformations, 30, 74-94.

Aslan, J. (2020). Climate change implications of gaming products and services University of Surrey]. https://doi.org/10.15126/thesis.00853729

Ball, M. (2021). Netflix and Video Games. MatthewBall.vc. Retrieved April 27 from https://www.matthewball.vc/all/netflixgames

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Calma, J. (2020). Apple ditching chargers saves costs but not the planet. The Verge. Retrieved January 26 from https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/16/21519466/apple-iphone-12-chargers-airpods-greenhouse-gas-emissions-e-waste

Chang, A. Y. (2019). Playing Nature: Ecology in Video Games. University of Minnesota Press.

Chuah, S. P., Yuen, C., & Cheung, N. M. (2014). Cloud gaming: a green solution to massive multiplayer online games. IEEE Wireless Communications, 21(4), 78-87. https://doi.org/10.1109/MWC.2014.6882299

Crowley, E. J., Silk, M. J., & Crowley, S. L. (2021). The educational value of virtual ecologies in Red Dead Redemption 2. People and Nature, 3(6), 1229-1243. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10242

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Fung, J. (2020). Simulating Reality: Where Games and Science Meet. Institute for Advanced Study. Retrieved January 26 from https://www.ias.edu/ideas/simulating-reality-where-games-and-science-meet

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Scully-Blaker, R. (2024). Reframing the Backlog: Radical Slowness and Patient Gaming. In L. o. de Beke, J. Raessens, S. Werning, & G. Farca (Eds.), Ecogames: Playful Perspectives on the Climate Crisis (pp. 505-524). Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.10819591.27

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Watson, S. (n.d.). What is green gaming?  https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/green-gaming.htm