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Gaming industry

Finland’s game industry is global by nature — and so are its impacts. Game companies reach billions of people, and their technological and content choices influence the climate, use of resources, and cultural values.

Gaming is the most digitally advanced cultural sector and one of the fastest-growing. As the industry expands, its ecological footprint, supply chains, and social responsibility are receiving increasing scrutiny.

Finland continues to be one of the most dynamic game markets in Europe. According to the industry umbrella organization Neogames, there were an estimated 230 game companies operating in Finland in 2022, with a total turnover of approximately €3.2 billion. The industry employed about 4,100 people, a significant portion of whom are based in the Helsinki region, which hosts 117 studios and 3,000 employees. Other major hubs include Oulu, Tampere, Turku, Kajaani, and Jyväskylä. The industry has always been globally connected: games developed in Finland are designed, produced, and published for international audiences. The workforce is highly international and male-dominated — around 30% of employees have foreign backgrounds, and only 22% are women.

Most Finnish game companies are small or medium-sized, but the sector also includes global giants. Finland’s largest game companies include Supercell (Tencent), Rovio (Sega), Remedy Entertainment, Metacore Games, and Housemarque (PlayStation Studios/Sony). These companies operate within international networks, and game design, publishing, and live operations are carried out by multinational teams for a global audience. The sector has attracted major investments, with game-focused venture capital firms like Sisu Game Ventures, Play Ventures, and Nordic Game Ventures operating in Finland. Public funding sources, such as Business Finland, also play an important role.

Mobile and PC games are the most popular platforms, though console and cross-platform games are on the rise. Increasingly, Finnish studios operate on a Games as a Service (GaaS) model, where games are launched as platforms that are continuously developed and maintained. This business model has become common across the industry and brings direct environmental impacts, especially through energy consumption from servers and continuous data use.

At the same time, sustainability topics are becoming part of international regulation and industry self-regulation. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will gradually introduce mandatory sustainability reporting to the game industry. Global initiatives such as Playing for the Planet and the Sustainable Games Alliance are addressing ecological challenges by developing shared metrics, tools, and training for game companies. In Finland, sustainability work in the sector is coordinated by Neogames and the Finnish Game Developers’ Association.

The Ecological Footprint of the Gaming Industry Is Created During Gameplay

The largest share of emissions in the gaming industry is generated during gameplay. According to estimates, 75–99 percent of a game’s lifecycle climate impact stems from electricity use by players’ devices, data transmission, online services, and content streaming. These are classified as Scope 3 emissions — indirect emissions not produced by the gaming company’s own operations but directly related to how their products are used. Emissions from game development, office operations, or business travel represent a relatively small, but not insignificant, portion of total emissions.

The type of game significantly affects energy consumption. AAA console and PC games demand more computing power and energy than mobile games. Cloud gaming and streaming shift emissions from players’ devices to data centers, where energy use and cooling solutions can impose substantial environmental burdens — especially when fossil energy sources are used.

The manufacture of gaming devices also contributes to ecological impacts. The use of critical minerals, short device lifespans, and challenges in recycling electronic waste are growing concerns for sustainability in the industry.

The increasing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in game development further escalates energy consumption. Training and deploying large language models and AI integrated into graphics engines require substantial amounts of electricity and water. These impacts are not yet systematically measured but should be considered in carbon accounting.

One of the most effective ways to reduce in-use emissions is energy-efficient programming. Although these decisions are made during the development phase, they have a direct impact on how the game performs in use. Green coding practices — such as optimizing rendering, managing frame rates, setting energy-saving defaults, and limiting background processes — can significantly lower energy consumption on players’ devices. These impacts scale quickly when a game is played globally for hundreds of millions of hours.

The Sustainable Games Alliance emphasized in its 2024 Scope 3 Issues Briefing Paper that the industry lacks a unified standard for determining which impacts should be included in sustainability accounting. Emissions from platforms, data centers, user devices, and marketing are often inconsistently addressed or left out entirely. The development of a dedicated sustainability accounting standard for the gaming industry is now underway and aims to align with CSRD and ESRS reporting requirements.

Calculators, Tools, and Networks to Support Sustainability Work

The gaming industry has access to several practical tools that support and develop sustainability efforts. Calculators, guidelines, and international manuals aid not only in emissions assessment but also in planning and decision-making. These tools also help clarify areas of progress and identify where to focus next.

The Pelimetsä Calculator is a free tool designed for Finnish studios to estimate the emissions caused by game development and gameplay. In 2024, it was updated based on recommendations from the Playing for the Planet network’s report Untangling Carbon Complexities of the Video Gaming Industry.

The CO₂ Emissions Model developed by Neogames provides a general framework for emissions assessment in the gaming industry. The calculator is based on industry best practices and existing general calculators such as WWF’s Green Office tool.

Other tools include Sweden’s Play, Create, Calculate, which breaks down Scope 1–3 emissions across different areas, and France’s Jyros, which tracks annual progress and generates automated reports in line with European standards. The Playing for the Planet initiative is also set to release its own calculator in 2025.

Evaluating indirect Scope 3 emissions is especially challenging for many studios. In 2024, the Sustainable Games Alliance published the Scope 3 Issues Briefing Paper, summarizing the most significant indirect emission sources in the industry and clarifying what impacts should be included. The goal of the guide is to create a clear action model and support sustainability reporting.

Guides Supporting the Sustainability Transition

Several guides and frameworks support sustainability efforts in areas beyond emissions measurement. France’s Eco Guide du Jeu Vidéo 2024 covers 21 different focus areas—from energy efficiency and travel to IT procurement, marketing, and game distribution. It includes a scoring model that makes it easier to track progress.

Sweden’s Code, Climate, Creativity report explores the role of the gaming industry in the sustainability transition and highlights how game engines, simulations, and gamification can be applied to solving the climate crisis in other fields as well.

The Green Games Guide, published in the UK in 2023, offers practical action steps especially for small and medium-sized gaming companies. It addresses energy efficiency in games, measuring player-use emissions, carbon footprint calculation, and office energy use. It also provides guidance on carbon offsetting, stakeholder communication, and driving change through game content.

Gaming platforms are also creating their own sustainability guides. In October 2024, Microsoft released the Xbox Sustainability Toolkit for developers, which includes guidelines for energy-efficient game design, power-saving settings, and game carbon footprint evaluation.

Networks Drive Impact

Industry networks and communities also play a key role in supporting sustainability efforts in the gaming sector. Playing for the Planet supports member studios in their climate work by providing tools, guidelines, and joint initiatives. The network’s most well-known campaign is the Green Game Jam, where game developers add climate-related themes to their games and experiment with different content and interface solutions.

The Playing for the Planet Awards is the network’s annual event that celebrates successful climate actions, collaboration models, and impactful content in the games industry. The first awards ceremony was held in Helsinki in 2024 in collaboration with RovioCon and Slush. Sustainable Games Alliance focuses on monitoring reporting practices and legislation, and on developing shared standards for the industry.

In Finland, sustainability work in the gaming industry is supported by organizations such as Neogames, Suomen Pelinkehittäjät ry, and the Pelimetsä and Strategies projects. They offer peer support, resources, and up-to-date information.

New Regulations and Standards Are Transforming the Games Industry

In 2025, sustainability efforts in the games industry are particularly shaped by the EU’s regulatory framework, such as the CSRD directive (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards) developed under it. Due to the Omnibus legislative amendment adopted in spring 2025, the entry into force of the reporting obligations has been delayed by one or two years for certain categories of companies.

CSRD reporting covers climate impacts, supply chain responsibility, equality, and governance. The data must be transparent, repeatable, and comparable—which calls for shared metrics in the games sector as well.

Scope 3 emissions—the indirect emissions related to game company operations such as user gameplay, subcontractors, and data transfer—make up the majority of total emissions. These are still difficult to define and calculate, and the industry has lacked unified practices. The Sustainable Games Alliance is currently developing a sector-specific sustainability standard for gaming that aligns with the GHG Protocol and supports CSRD/ESRS compliance.

The network’s Scope 3 Issues Briefing Paper, published in 2024, provides the first concrete guidance on what should be included in emissions assessments within the games industry. The goal of the standard is to establish a common framework for measurement and reporting—especially for studios operating in international markets.

While not all game studios are yet covered by the reporting obligation, early preparation can boost competitiveness and strengthen stakeholder relationships. Many game distributors and investors already require sustainability data as part of partnership agreements.

The Transformative Power of Game Content

Games can impact the environment not only through their carbon footprint, but also through the stories and values they convey. In recent years, content-based impact has become an important part of the sustainability discussion. Games reach billions of people around the world. They can spark insight and shape attitudes.

The Green Game Jam by the Playing for the Planet Alliance has been a key initiative that systematically harnesses this potential. Participating studios introduce climate-related elements into their games—such as in-game eco-actions, challenges, donation campaigns, or narrative frameworks addressing biodiversity loss or sustainable lifestyles. Companies like Ubisoft, Rovio, Mojang, and Creative Assembly have taken part, and campaign scales have ranged from small experiments to global initiatives reaching tens of millions of players.

Games can also support circular economy and sustainable lifestyles through simulation and systems thinking. For example, the collaboration between Minecraft Education and Frozen Planet II has allowed players to explore biodiversity and the climate crisis from the perspective of animals. Similarly, games like Lightyear Frontier teach respect for nature and the pursuit of positive environmental impact through gameplay mechanics.

Climate themes can also be embedded more subtly. Scarcity of resources, changing environments, or future scenarios may be part of gameplay or storytelling without directly addressing the climate crisis as a theme.

Games can act as platforms for broader systems thinking and for testing new solutions. Simulations built with game engines enable the modeling of climate actions in contexts like urban planning, resource management, or traffic systems—extending the use of games for sustainability far beyond the gaming industry itself.

However, content-driven impact is not always straightforward and can pose challenges. Climate messaging may feel out of place in a game world or appear too didactic if not well integrated. Potential player reactions must be carefully considered during the design process.

Ecological Perspectives in Game Industry Education

Finland offers a wide and regionally comprehensive range of game industry education. Game-related programs are available at multiple educational levels: in folk high schools, vocational institutions, universities of applied sciences, and universities. Most programs focus strongly on the practical skills of game development—such as game design, programming, content creation, and game business—while ecological themes typically do not feature prominently in curricula.

On the academic side, some university programs also address the cultural and societal dimensions of games. For example, at Tampere University’s Game Research Lab, games are studied from multiple perspectives, including their cultural and societal significance. Tampere University also offers a dedicated course, The Future at Play: Games and Sustainability, which explores games and gamification in relation to current sustainability challenges.

At the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Turku’s Pori unit, game studies incorporate themes of social responsibility, such as inclusion and participation, though environmental issues tend to remain in the background. In Aalto University’s Game Design and Development master’s programs, sustainability and ecological responsibility are not part of the core curriculum either—though students can pursue these themes through Aalto’s wide course selection.

Continuing education and internal industry initiatives currently play an important role. For ecological sustainability to become part of the game industry’s core competencies, it must be systematically integrated into formal curricula. This requires collaboration between educational institutions, companies, and industry actors, as well as support for educators in adopting new topics.