PlanetPlay reports 79% of players made eco-friendly changes after playing green themed games

Seventy-nine percent of players who engaged with games featuring green messages or environmental content reported adopting at least one positive behavioural change.

That's according to data from an in-game poll by PlanetPlay called Play2Act, which showed that 47% of players reduced their environmental impact through energy use or public transport while 34% made more sustainable consumption choices.

PlanetPlay said over 181,000 players from 189 countries participated in the Play2Act survey through 24 popular games like Subway Surfers, Beatstar, Pokemon GO!, and Avakin Life. 

The survey, leveraging the games’ weekly reach of 80 million players, gathered insights into players' experiences with green games and their impact on behaviour and attitudes toward climate and environmental action.

Play2Act launched in September 2024 to explore how games can address climate and nature crises. The initiative involves 20 game studios and platforms, including Bandai Namco, Funplus, Jagex, Microsoft, Niantic, Rovio, Space Ape Games, SYBO, Trailmix, Tripledot, Unity and others. 

Adopting greener habits 

The Play2Act survey also supports the "Games Realising Effective and Affective Transformation (GREAT)" project, funded by the EU Horizon and UKRI, aiming to engage gamers and studios in addressing climate and nature crises. 

Furthermore, PlanetPlay said participating studios will analyse the survey data to promote industry measures, while the UNDP will use the results to gauge global opinions on climate action. 

"Games are uniquely positioned to engage a vast and diverse audience on environmental issues," said PlanetPlay CEO Rhea Loucas. 

Seeing so many players adopt greener habits after engaging with green content is a powerful testament to the impact games can have in shaping a more sustainable future." 

“The Play2Act results prove that when sustainability is embedded into gameplay, it doesn’t just inform - it inspires real action.”