Making a game emits carbon, but calculating the impact is easier than you may think and can shift the mindset of our industry.

In 2023, indie studio Die Gute Fabrik employed gaming emissions expert Dr Ben Abraham (read his newsletter) to write a first-of-its-kind report on the total emissions associated with developing their latest game, Saltsea Chronicles.

Carbon reporting is standard practice for large corporations, but this not only demonstrates that even smaller games can take responsibility for their climate impact, it also shows that it can be done on a per-game basis.

Abraham went on to work on a standardized emissions reporting system for game development – with something like that in place, we could start seeing CO2 labels on games in the not-too-far future, further normalizing a carbon-responsible attitude in our industry and beyond.