Ubisoft Is Changing Its Games In The Name Of Climate Change?
Ubisoft is changing its games to help combat climate change.
Ubisoft, the French game-making giant that recently upped the prices of its releases, is changing its games to continue to raise awareness and mobilize players to combat climate change and protect the environment. This statement encompasses Ubisoft’s current gaming lineup, ranging from their AAA titles, like the upcoming Skull & Bones, to smaller, mobile gaming titles developed by its smaller, mobile-oriented cousin, Gameloft.
According to Bounding Into Comics, Ubisoft previously expressed its environmental efforts in June last year, stating it would promote the United Nation’s climate change message in its gaming titles. These initiatives within the industry were initially developed during the 2022 Green Game Jam, an industry-wide event hosted by the Playing for the Planet Alliance (PPA)—an initiative that’s entirely dedicated to inspiring the gaming industry to take action to combat climate change. These actions include reducing emissions and green activations within the video game medium.
In fact, Ubisoft is actually a founding member of PPA, and its subsidiaries participate in the Green Game Jam every year by creating in-game events that inspire the gaming community to think green. In June last year, the in-game world of Riders Republic hosted its first climate match that Ubisoft’s team devised one year earlier. The themes of the event were Food, Forests, and our Future, and it brought together 14 in-house teams to work together and brainstorm ideas, which were subsequently implemented into titles like Trackmania, Rocksmith+, Brawlhalla, etc.
For example, players can now plant a World Tree to promote sustainability in Ubisoft’s free-to-play Norse mythology-themed fighting game titled Brawlhalla. The event also included the option to purchase an in-game emote of the small Yggdrasil tree and several other in-game “products.” All the proceeds from this campaign went to Ecologi, a social enterprise working on reforestation projects. Another such instance is protecting baby sharks in Hungry Shark World by portraying the importance of coral reefs for our planet.
Initiatives didn’t stop there, either. Players have the chance to learn about the use of wood in music instrument manufacturing in Rocksmith+. Ubisoft introduced a video series on the impact of wood selection and harvesting for instrument manufacturing. The company has, once again, teamed up with Ecologi, to plant one tree for every five in-game interactions with the event, with the goal of planting 20,000 trees and educating players on the correlation between wood and the instruments they play.
The company is actually going a step further by accentuating both the players’ and the gaming industries’ respective responsibilities in environmental protection and climate change. Ubisoft is looking to lead the change within the gaming industry by decarbonizing its own operations and inspiring players and other key industry gamers to join the company and advocate in their own respective communities. The company is looking to reduce its own carbon emissions by 47 percent in the following eight years.
It’s also implementing this across the board by implementing similar targets across at least two-thirds of its subsidiaries, suppliers, and other partners. Kudos where kudos are due, but it’s important to note that the company isn’t doing this out of the kindness of its heart either. Profit drives business, and Ubisoft is actually looking to reach Environmental, Social, and Governance targets for investment purposes.
