Data drawn from a new in-game poll called Play2Act showed evidence that gaming has the potential to incentivize greener habits among gamers. 79 percent of those respondents who had played games with green messages or environmental content reported making at least one positive behavioural change after playing these games. Among these players, 47 percent report reducing their environmental impact through energy use or public transport, while 34 percent report making greener consumption choices.

Launched in September 2024, Play2Act is a poll embedded in popular games, designed to explore the role of games in tackling the climate and nature crises. The initiative was developed by PlanetPlay, a not-for-profit platform that contributes to environmental action through games, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).Over 181,000 players from 189 countries, including 70 Least Developed Countries or Small Island Developing States, responded to a series of Play2Act survey questions placed in 24 popular games such as Subway Surfers, Beatstar, Pokemon GO! and Avakin Life, among others.

The poll leveraged the participating games' reach of 80 million players per week. The questions aimed to collect players' perspectives on their experiences with green games, and their impact on behaviour and sentiment toward climate and environmental action.

20 games studios and platforms have participated in the Play2Act initiative, including Actrio, Bandai Namco, CM Games, E-Line Media, Futurevision, Funplus, Hutch, Jagex, Lockwood, Microsoft/Xbox Insider, Niantic, Outplay, Reliance, Rovio, Space Ape Games, SYBO, Ten Square Games, Trailmix, Tripledot and Unity.

"Games are uniquely positioned to engage a vast and diverse audience on environmental issues. 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," said Rhea Loucas, CEO at PlanetPlay. "The Play2Act results prove that when sustainability is embedded into gameplay, it doesn't just inform—it inspires real action."

"With our game Subway Surfers reaching an extensive global audience, we hold an opportunity and a huge responsibility to understand players' views on climate and nature. We are committed to supporting efforts to protect our planet, ensuring everyone has a voice in this matter. Games can be a powerful tool to amplify climate and environmental action, which is why we actively participate in initiatives like Play2Act," added Matthias Gredal Norvig, CEO of SYBO.

The Play2Act survey also contributes to the 'Games Realising Effective and Affective Transformation (GREAT)' project, funded by the European Union Horizon and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It aims to engage the gaming community—gamers and studios—in addressing the climate and nature crises by exploring how games can drive social engagement and spark new dialogues for positive change.

While participating game studios will further analyze Play2Act survey's data to promote measures and actions within the industry, UNDP aims to use the aggregate results to better understand global opinion on climate and nature action, with a particular interest in the younger generations and the global south.

"More needs to be done to enhance awareness of the climate and nature crises. We must utilize every tool at our disposal to drive meaningful change, and this effort should involve every segment of society, including the private sector and the gaming industry," said Cassie Flynn, Global Director of Climate Change at UNDP. "The Play2Act initiative shows the potential of games -- not only as an entertainment tool, but also as platforms for gathering insights and engaging with individuals, especially young people, on a large scale."