Why embracing purpose-led games are great for your studio’s recruitment, as well as the environment

Those of you familiar with PlanetPlay know that we exist for one reason: to harness the global reach and creative power of the video games industry for real-world environmental impact.

We recognise the influence of 3.3 billion players and the $190 billion global games market, and so we created a way for players and studios to turn in-game actions into climate-positive outcomes.

So far, this endeavour has manifested itself in key, tangible, award-winning ways: the ongoing Make Green Moves campaign (in-game and PlanetPlay Marketplace green activations with partner studios & celebs), and Play2Act, an ongoing global gamer climate survey in partnership with the UNDP.

The results of the latter have reinforced our approach with the former, and given our partner studios confidence to double down when it comes to integrating green messaging into their games. For example, we know that:

79% of players who experienced green-themed content reported making at least one positive behaviour change afterwards
47% reported reducing energy use or public transport emissions
34% made greener consumption choices

The results show that when sustainability is embedded in gameplay, it doesn’t just inform, it inspires action, giving players real agency rather than passive exposure.

And we know these results also play out in the wider world of brands and consumerism. The PDI Business of Sustainability Index shows that 91% of Gen Z want to buy from sustainable companies, and that 77% are willing to pay more for products aligned with those values.

Meanwhile the Deloitte Global 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey showed that 64% of Gen Z say sustainability is important in purchasing decisions, and that 54% would pay up to 10% more for sustainable products.

Better for the planet – Better for your studio

All of which leads up to this eye-opening factoid we spotted this week: Millennials are more likely than Gen Z to turn down a job offer if they believe that the company’s ethics and sustainability practices do not align with their own personal values.

That’s according to research by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which found that 27% of millennial prospective students strongly agree that an employer’s ethical and sustainability practices would impact their decision to accept a job offer, compared to 19% of Gen Z candidates.

The report – now in its 15th year – also found that 85% of candidates believe that corporations have a social responsibility to the countries and people that support them.

It’s a fair sample size too, analysing data from 4,912 respondents across 147 countries.

Overall, the report found that 68% of all potential business school students state that a company’s ethics and sustainability practices would have an influence on whether or not they would accept a job offer.

Of course, the great thing about your studio participating in green game activations, whether that’s with PlanetPlay or with any of the other amazing organisations doing great work in the space, is that it can count directly towards your ESG goals.

For example, studios that have participated in Make Green Moves (MGM) have so far contributed to $2.2m+ raised and 20,000 tonnes CO₂ saved (equivalent to 100,000 trees planted) for sustainability projects in Kenya, New Zealand and Timor-Leste.

In fact, all MGM partner studios have bolstered their green credentials with the award of Gold Standard carbon credit retirement certificates.

Factor in proven uplift across key metrics for games that feature as part of MGM (26% more downloads, +4x bundle sales, 80% increase in store revenue, 3x ROAS, +104.8% new user acquisitions and +58.7% reactivated users, we could go on) and the business case is clear when it comes to both revenue and recruitment.

We’ll leave the final word with Nalisha Patel, Regional Director for the Americas and Europe at GMAC: “It’s often assumed that Gen Z leads the charge on social values, but our findings suggest a more complex picture - millennials are actually more willing to walk away from job offers that don’t align with their ethics. It’s a clear reminder for companies that strong ethics and sustainability practices aren’t just nice to have - they’re essential if they want to attract and retain value-driven talent.”

In short, the next generation of talent that your studio will need for its upcoming projects expects you to be supporting the environment and environmental causes. We’d love to help start or expand your journey.

To learn more about working with PlanetPlay visit https://partners.planetplay.com

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash