GAMES HAVE MASTERED ENGAGEMENT – LET’S PUT THAT TO WORK WITH UNICEF
As PlanetPlay and UNICEF prepare to launch a fundraising PC games collection, Felix Bradshaw outlines why games are uniquely positioned to drive global impact at scale – and how your studio can take part
L
et’s be honest: the games industry doesn’t need another lecture about doing good. Studios and publishers are navigating some of the toughest
market conditions we’ve seen in years. Budgets are tighter. Competition for attention is relentless. Teams are being asked to deliver more with less. Against that backdrop, it’s understandable that many businesses are focused squarely on survival. But here’s a challenge I’d like to put to you: what
if supporting meaningful causes wasn’t a distraction from business goals? What if it could help achieve them? That’s the thinking behind PlanetPlay’s new partnership with UNICEF. Announced earlier this month, the collaboration
is designed to make it easier than ever for studios, publishers and players to support children around the world through gameplay.
A huge ‘thank you’ to all the studios, publishers, influencers and players that helped to make our Battle for the Habitats campaign such a success! Running from Earth Day (April 22) to World Environment Day (June 5) as part of our ongoing ‘Make Green Moves’ campaign, Battle for the Habitats spanned 200+ smash hit games from Capcom, SEGA, Dovetail Games, FuturLab, Crytek, Nekki Games, Mindscape, Funcom, Lockwood, Fusebox and many more. 100% of PlanetPlay’s net profits generated through Battle for the Habitats are directed to supporting the work of Rainforest Alliance and Oceana, helping to protect and restore vital rainforest ecosystems, defend marine habitats, safeguard endangered species and support communities on the frontlines of habitat and biodiversity challenges.
The first initiative, the PlayForEveryChild PC
Games Collection for UNICEF, launches this October and will bring together games from across the industry in support of UNICEF’s work for children in more than 190 countries. We need just one thing: Your PC games! PlanetPlay will act as the PlayForEveryChild PC
Games Collection’s dedicated integration and delivery partner, providing the infrastructure, storefront, campaign management, reporting and donation transparency needed to activate large-scale games impact initiatives. In addition to PlanetPlay’s own reach, the campaign
will be amplified by UNICEF itself, an organisation with 86% global brand recognition and 64m followers on social media. And, of course, 100% of PlanetPlay’s net profits
from the PlayForEveryChild PC Games Collection will be channeled to UNICEF’s work, which ranges from education and healthcare programmes to climate resilience and emergency response.
THE INDUSTRY ALREADY HAS THE TOOLS For me, PlayForEveryChild is proof that games are beginning to mature as a platform for global impact. One of the most common challenges I hear
about when discussing social impact campaigns is that studios don’t have the resources, due to all the very real pressures outlined above. I completely understand that.
32 | MCV/DEVELOP July/August 2026
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