Leading games studios are marking Earth Day by joining disruptive NPO PlanetPlay’s groundbreaking new Make Green Tuesday Moves (MGTM) initiative, which will enable both industry and players to make an important real-world impact in the fight against climate change.
SYBO (Subway Surfers), Lockwood Publishing (Avakin Life), Ten Square Games (Fishing Clash) and CM Games (Nitro Nation) have all been confirmed as proud MGTM launch partners.
On the first Tuesday of each month, starting June 4th 2024, each participating studio will launch a ‘green’ item (or bundle of items) within their game(s) that will be exclusive to the MGTM movement, remaining live until the next monthly activation begins.
The inaugural MGTM will see 100% of the proceeds from the sale of in-game items – which can comprise new and/or upcycled DLC goods such as characters, costumes and objects – invested into fully certified sustainability projects by not-for-profit digital platform PlanetPlay.
Throughout the year a number of the MGTM activations will be supported by a ‘Star of the Month’ from the world of entertainment, supported by a huge social media campaign, helping to inspire gamers all around the world to ‘Make Green Tuesday Moves’.
The first wave of MGTM partner studios have over 36 million daily players1, with games that have been played over 4 billion times2, estimated at 400m monthly active users.
All studios need to do in order to participate in the MGTM initiative is integrate PlanetPlay’s API and/or promo codes to release an item or items on the PlanetPlay store or in-game, as well as supporting the Movement through their own comms channels.
When celebrities are involved in the Movement, PlanetPlay will provide licenses to studios which means that they can create items/DLCs relating to the celebrities, following the theme of the active superstar – with a CTA around Make Green Tuesday Moves.
All gamers need to do is harness their #PassiveActivism, by continuing to play the games they love, with no change in style or habit required to contribute to amazing sustainability causes.
These sustainability causes include PlanetPlay’s flagship Hongera Project, which aims to help over 150,000 families in Kenya improve their living conditions by manufacturing and distributing clean cookstoves to local communities, resulting in around 2,000,000 tonnes of carbon emissions being saved.
A collaboration with Ten Square Games in the widely-played Fishing Clash resulted in an engaging in-game event, rallying 50,000 users and raising €20,000 for the WAI Wanaka water conservation project in New Zealand.
PlanetPlay’s in-game green activations also generate proven uplift for studio partners across multiple commercial and engagement metrics. Lockwood Publishing saw green content from GRAMMY-nominated recording artist Fat Joe feature as part of its Avakin Life virtual world, driving a 6% increase in downloads on the Google Play store over the launch period, plus a 104.8% uplift in new user acquisition. That was alongside a 58.7% upswing in re-activated players, 1,600% uplift in sales of one particular in-game item and a further 458% increase in sales across 30 other items.
In addition, a recent collaboration with Latin artist J Balvin and SYBO’s popular Subway Surfers game saw a portion of the proceeds from the star’s in-game character purchases donated via PlanetPlay to the Hongera Project. Plus, limited edition t-shirts featuring special designs inspired by J Balvin were made available through the PlanetPlay storefront and bundled with a variable carbon emissions reduction starting at a minimum of 100 kg CO2.
SYBO and PlanetPlay were able to offset over 2,000 tons of carbon emissions in the campaign’s three-week run, the equivalent of a concert with nearly 100,000 guests.
PlanetPlay is a not-for-profit digital platform that allows players around the world to contribute to climate action through in-game purchases and gameplay with affiliated game studios.
In the coming months, PlanetPlay will unveil more exciting Green Tuesday partnerships with game makers, fashion brands and music industries.
Rhea Loucas, Founder and CEO of PlanetPlay, said: “The need for climate action is more pressing than ever, and the games industry is one of the most powerful agents to spark real-world change. Our founding MGTM partners boast some of the most popular games in the world right now, enabling us to collectively engage with global fanbases to help raise environmental awareness and fund great sustainability causes.”
Mathias Gredal Nørvig, CEO at SYBO, said: “Make Green Tuesday Moves is a testament to what is possible when creativity, technology, and a passion for the planet come together – we are proud supporters of all those things here at Sybo. PlanetPlay’s initiatives, including within our own Subway Surfers, have not only elevated the player experience, but have also inspired others in the industry to follow suit, proving that games can be a powerful force for positive environmental change. I’m so excited about what we can achieve with MGTM.”
Halli Thor Bjornsson, CEO at Lockwood Publishing, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be part of the Make Green Tuesday Moves initiative, having experienced the amazing results of PlanetPlay’s in-game sustainability efforts first-hand within our Avakin Life community. MGTM not only aligns with our values as a studio, but also empowers players to support meaningful, verified sustainability projects around the world. We look forward to delivering a green slice of fun each first Tuesday, and can’t wait to see the real-world benefits of MGTM.”
Andrzej Ilczuk, CEO at Ten Square Games, said: “This collaboration is particularly close to our hearts, as it ties directly into the themes of nature and conservation found in our Fishing Clash and Hunting Clash games. As the first studio participating in Make Green Tuesday Moves, we firmly believe we can leverage the passion of our players and our creativity to combat climate change. This is a powerful example of how games can go beyond entertainment and foster a positive impact on the environment.”
Maria Tyshkovskaya, Head Of Marketing at CM Games, said: “Make Green Tuesday Moves by PlanetPlay is an example where actions speak louder than words. As champions of sustainability, we at CM Games gladly join the movement, knowing that our efforts echo through the gaming community. Together, we pave the way for a greener future, leaving a legacy of positive change for generations to come.”
Jose Cranfield, Education Lead at WAI Wānaka, said: “The funding from PlanetPlay has amplified our project from a small community level citizen science project to provide publishable research on microplastics. It’s given us a way to attract researchers to the region and to produce a method that can now be reliably shared across the country making our data comparable to others doing similar research in their catchments. The funding has allowed us to reach a larger audience and communicate our message through storytelling, at cinemas, at events and in the classroom.”
