Carbon-Cutting Games Consoles Revealed

With many video game releases delayed until this year – including Elden Ring and Warhammer 3 – it’s shaping up to be a huge year for gamers. As with any major sector, however, the focus is on limiting gaming’s environmental impact. From video game companies to social media titans, the tech industry is working to lower its carbon footprint, with 21 gaming giants pledging to cut their emissions by a combined 30 million tonnes by 2030.

Most recently, video game developer Sumo Group joined the Playing for the Planet Alliance, which showcases the achievements of gaming companies’ collaborative efforts to lower carbon emissions. But how can gamers make a difference and support these brands’ initiatives?

Carbon-Cutting Consoles analyses the CO2 emissions associated with popular platforms, using official specifications, to identify the most and least polluting devices – as well as the most impactful video game titles.

Most Polluting Gaming Platforms

Of the consoles analysed in the study – limited to those released since 2004 – gaming laptops proved to be the most polluting, generating an estimated 25.6 kg of CO2 each year. This figure is based on the average gaming laptop’s energy consumption of 0.25 kWh – although some can reach 0.5 kWh (about six times that of an average laptop) – and the 442 hours that gamers spent playing in 2021.

The most polluting games console provider was found to be PlayStation (Sony), so it is no surprise that the company has pledged to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions not just in its operations, but throughout product life cycles. Most recently, Sony announced that it had brought forward its target year for carbon neutrality from 2050 to 2040, by which time it aims to produce virtually zero greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

At the other end of the scale, the most eco-friendly console was the original PlayStation – surprising, given that the newer platforms are the most polluting. This is not particularly helpful, however, because the PS5’s backwards compatibility extends only to most PS4 games, and you cannot play any new PlayStation titles on the older platforms.

Most Popular Video Games

We know that gaming platforms have significant carbon footprints – particularly those from PlayStation – but what about the video games themselves? Because games vary dramatically in terms of running time and popularity, the study also examined the completion time of this year’s most popular titles to uncover the potential environmental impact of your favourite franchises. The statistics are based on the average energy consumption across all gaming devices, which was calculated at 0.09 kWh.

The data from Casino Guardian revealed that Minecraft has the highest carbon footprint – largely due to its enormous playing time as an open-world game. Per player, Minecraft’s emissions are equivalent to driving 63.5 miles in a petrol-powered car or consuming 2.5 gallons of diesel, according to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. This calculation does not take into account the number of people playing Minecraft at any given moment, or the fact that most of them will be playing on gaming laptops – factors that would increase the estimated footprint exponentially.

Eco-Friendly Gaming Habits

So, how have gamers’ perceptions of playing video games changed over the last year, particularly regarding the environment? A survey carried out as part of the study found that more than half of respondents (53%) would be willing to curb their gaming habits in order to reduce energy costs – suggesting that brands need to focus on creating eco-friendly consoles or risk losing part of their audience on cost grounds. The survey also revealed that almost two thirds of people (64%) are unaware of the environmental impact associated with gaming, meaning they may be perpetuating the problem without realising.

It remains to be seen whether gaming organisations will meet their climate goals, but it is encouraging to see that gamers are open to learning more about how they can help offset their carbon footprint whilst doing what they love.