Sustainable Games Alliance Launches First Industry Standard for Sustainable Games

The Sustainable Games Alliance (SGA), a global non-profit cooperative of game developers, universities and associations, today announced the launch of the Sustainable Games Standard, the first global emissions reporting framework created specifically for the games industry.

The SGA Standard is a games industry-specific interpretation of the GHG Protocol, designed to reduce the burden and complexity of complying with environmental, social, and governance disclosures required by multiple jurisdictions worldwide. The initial focus is on meeting the requirements of the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Starting with environmental impact, the standard will address additional required topics one by one.

After a year plus of work, dozens of conversations with game developers, weeks of review and refinement with STRATEGIES research project, and as much hands-on time testing the standard as we could fit in... it's about to go live and kick off a new era for the games industry.

The games sector is the largest popular medium globally, shaping culture, entertainment, and social imagination on an unprecedented scale. While games themselves have been studied as a medium capable of inspiring visions of the future, they exist within much wider media ecosystems and player communities. Reviews, video essays, podcasts, and other public reflections play a major role in how games are experienced.

A new article from researchers within the STRATEGIES project, Understanding games as a site of utopian resonance, explores how these reflections function as spaces for societal thinking about utopia. Unlike previous research, which has focused on the content of games, this study highlights how conversations around games can themselves act as a site of orientation toward possible futures.

On June 17 and 18, 2025 Strategies Horizon participated in Game Cluster and Cultural and Creative Industries for a Sustainable Climate Transition Cluster meet-ups in Brussels. The clusters are funded projects with shared goals and aims. Game cluster projects relate directly to video games in Europe, while the CCI for Sustainable Climate Transition cluster projects focus on a range of creative industries, from museums to fashion. STRATEGIES was represented by Sonia Fizek, Odile Limpach, Thomas Bjørner, Stefan Werning, and Joost Raessens.

At Utrecht University, there is a growing interest in researching the intersection of digital technologies and sustainability. Our researchers are exploring various aspects, ranging from the use of big data and AI to tackle climate change and develop smart solutions, to examining the environmental impact of our digital society, including energy consumption and e-waste generation.

This past August, the STRATEGIES Horizon Europe Project launched its first summer school in Warsaw, bringing together graduate students, early-career researchers, designers, and game industry professionals for an inspiring three-day exploration of ecologically conscious game design.