The Carbon Footprint of Playing Games

Abstract

This chapter examines the current literature estimating the energy use and carbon emissions associated with playing games, outlining an easy method for developers and others to estimate end-user emissions intensity. The second section of the chapter focuses on the importance of energy efficiency, an area where console hardware device designers can make substantial contributions to avoiding emissions, and the case for their significance and scale of emissions. The chapter then lastly discusses the potential for changes to games’ designs to reduce these emissions and considers whether they are worth pursuing and in under what circumstances. These changes range from avoiding heavy computational intensity graphics, to entirely different approaches to games, the chapter argues for the generative potential for today’s field of game design in thinking through what an energy constrained game industry might look like.