ENVIRONMENTAL AND


SOCIAL IMPACT AREN’T SEPARATE STORIES


Rhea Loucas, CEO of PlanetPlay, says that the games industry’s


extraordinary ability to engage and mobilise people can create positive change across environmental, humanitarian and social causes – and that there is no single way for studios or players to make a difference


T


he phrase ‘games for good’ has been around for a long time. But I think our understanding of what it means is still evolving.


We’ve seen games created specifically to educate and


raise awareness. We’ve watched games communities raise extraordinary sums for charities. Studios have tackled difficult social issues through their storytelling, while publishers, platforms and players have rallied around causes ranging from humanitarian emergencies to environmental emergencies. All of those activities are examples of games for good.


But perhaps the bigger opportunity is to stop thinking of the concept as a particular type of game or charitable campaign and instead consider all the different ways our industry can contribute positively to the world around us. Games reach billions of people (in fact, it’ll


be more than 4 billion by 2029, according to the very latest Newzoo data!). More importantly, they engage those people in ways few other forms of entertainment can match. That gives us an extraordinary platform. The question is what we choose to do with it.


46 | MCV/DEVELOP September/October 2026


ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION IS ABOUT PEOPLE TOO At PlanetPlay, our own understanding of that opportunity has evolved. We began with a strong focus on environmental action, creating ways for everyday gaming activity to support projects protecting habitats, biodiversity and nature. That has included supporting the Green.Earth


Hongera Clean Cookstoves Project in Kenya, as well as working with organisations including Rainforest Alliance and Oceana on the protection of forests, oceans, biodiversity and the communities that depend upon them. But one of the things we’ve learned is that


‘environmental’ and ‘social’ impact often go hand in hand. Take Hongera. Providing cleaner, more efficient


cookstoves reduces carbon emissions and pressure on forests, but the impact goes much further. Women spend an average of 5.7 fewer hours each week collecting firewood, families are exposed to significantly less harmful indoor air pollution, and the project creates local employment and reinvests into the communities it serves.


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