On its journey to use games for good and mark a meaningful impact on the planet, TreesPlease Games has reached a landmark moment in its mobile game, Longleaf Valley.
The 2023 puzzle title aims to tackle climate change through player action and, as a direct result of its initiative, has now passed the milestone of planting one million trees.
Longleaf Valley is the first mobile puzzle game to achieve such a milestone - one that's enough to offset more than 5,600 cars' carbon emissions.
In essence, Longleaf Valley’s environmental focus builds from players completing merge puzzles and earning Tree Tokens, which can be used in-game to grow plants and restore a deforested valley. When planting trees in-game, TreesPlease Games’ charity partner Eden Reforestation Projects plants a tree in the real world to help preserve the planet.
Players can track their contribution in-game and monitor the number of trees planted directly thanks to their actions. The total number of trees planted through all player's engagement can also be followed in-game, giving players a sense of achievement beyond completing in-game tasks.
To celebrate their accomplishments so far, all players will receive a reward in-game and the chance to participate in the new Treellionaire Cup.
Preserving the planet
Longleaf Valley was designed with a "Play It, Plant It" model, and with real trees being planted across Africa, Asia and Latin America, players also help support jobs for the local populations and nurture wildlife.
TreesPlease Games founded five years ago in 2019, but only officially launched from stealth last year. The studio raised $8 million across its investment rounds to make Longleaf Valley and is operated by a team of 15 people. CEO and co-founder Laura Carter was formerly head of production on mobile at Square Enix, and is also a veteran of Playstation, Disney and NaturalMotion.
"I’m extremely proud of the results of Longleaf Valley, and the efforts of our world class team. Together we’ve lived up to our initial ambitions, to prove that games can have a positive impact on the world by protecting nature and tackling climate change," said Carter.
"It occurred to me, having invested significant time and energy into volunteering and activism that there was a way to align my purpose and profession in a more impactful way. That games could be a powerful and effective way to create positive impact at scale, by empowering players to make a difference in the real world whilst playing games. It is incredibly exciting to see that vision come to life and I could not be more excited to see what we can achieve together with our players in the future."
Eden Reforestation Project added: "Through our partnership with TreesPlease Games, we have reached an incredible milestone together of planting over a million trees, bringing significant progress in landscape restoration that not only supports the planet but creates opportunities for local communities and wildlife and ecosystems to thrive. We are excited for the future of our partnership, and look forward to helping gamers contribute to the health of our planet."
Sustainability firm AfterClimate previously found industry giants Tencent, Apple, Ubisoft, and Nintendo to be leaders in reducing gaming's carbon emissions.
