A new study by carbon accounting specialists Greenly highlights the significant environmental impact of the global gaming industry, analysing emissions from manufacturing, transport, usage across different platforms, and the rise of streaming.
Gaming has evolved dramatically from arcade cabinets to omnipresent entertainment on PCs, consoles, mobiles, and handhelds. This expansion, according to Greenly’s analysis, comes with a considerable ecological cost. The study, titled No child’s play: The Carbon Footprint of Gaming, breaks down the carbon footprint across various gaming formats.
Platform Power Plays: PC vs Console vs Mobile
Consoles remain popular, with the market growing 10% in 2023. Greenly notes the significant emissions tied to their production and transport, citing the PS4’s estimated 8.9 million tCO2e manufacturing and transport footprint between 2013 and 2019. For usage, Microsoft estimates modern consoles emit around 72 kg CO2e per year. With approximately 90 million PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles sold by June 2024, their combined annual use emissions reach nearly 6.5 million tCO2e.
PC gaming, with an estimated 1.86 billion players worldwide, contributes substantially. Greenly calculates the annual footprint per PC user, including manufacturing and average daily use (2 hours 25 minutes), at 149 kg CO2e. Extrapolated globally, this totals a staggering 277 million tCO2e annually. Electricity consumption for both consoles and PCs adds further impact; in the US alone, gaming-related electricity use (including TVs) accounts for an additional 2.6 million tCO2e.
Mobile gaming, while seemingly less intensive per user at 20 kg CO2e annually (including amortised manufacturing emissions for a 97-minute daily average), adds up due to its sheer scale. With 2.9 billion players, the global annual footprint is estimated at 58 million tCO2e, comparable to the yearly emissions of Greece.
Handhelds and Tablets
The study also considers handheld devices. Tablets, used for gaming around 41 minutes daily, have an estimated annual footprint of 73 kg CO2e, including manufacturing. Dedicated handheld consoles like the Nintendo Switch appear greener, emitting roughly 13.8 kg CO2e per year based on 56 minutes of daily use, though this doesn’t fully account for emissions when docked to a TV.
Digital vs Physical Games & Online Play
Greenly highlights the environmental difference between physical and digital game distribution. While around 30% of top game sales in 2023 were physical copies, manufacturing and packaging one million discs is estimated to emit 312 tCO2e before transport. Downloading the equivalent 70GB game a million times emits only an estimated 3 tCO2e.
However, ongoing data transmission for online features and updates adds to the footprint regardless of the purchase format. Playing Fortnite (100 MB/h) for a thousand hours emits roughly 3.91 tCO2e per player. Multiplied by a million players, this becomes 3.91 million tCO2e.
The Streaming Factor
The study also addresses the impact of watching game streams on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Greenly estimates that watching gaming streams for 30 minutes daily emits 584 kg CO2e per viewer annually (based on 3.2 kg CO2e per hour of YouTube streaming).
Potential Greening Strategies
The report suggests several ways the industry and players can reduce their impact. It calls for console manufacturers like Sony and Nintendo to implement robust trade-in and refurbishment programs, similar to Apple and Samsung. Conducting lifecycle assessments for hardware could help reduce manufacturing and transport emissions (the PS4’s transport emissions alone were cited as 89 kg CO2e).
Game studios could implement energy-saving modes for menus and loading screens, following examples like Epic Games’ efforts with Fortnite, which reportedly save a combined 73 GWh annually (equivalent to 31-42 tCO2e depending on the energy mix).
Individually, gamers are encouraged to favour digital downloads over physical copies and minimise the use of extra peripherals.
Alexis Normand, CEO of Greenly, commented on the findings:
Far from its beginnings as a niche pastime in the 80s, the expansion of gaming platforms into increasingly portable formats has been one of the real success stories of the past generation, putting forth the best of human creativity and cooperation in multiplayer environments. We’re convinced that the same commitment can be channelled into supporting the environment, and call on the gaming community to keep the real world in mind even as they stream.
