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Acknowledging excellence through awards is a vital part of the industry’s ecosystem and the importance of celebrating sustainability work through dedicated categories in mainstream games award shows cannot be overstated. While there are some sustainability awards in other awards shows, there is no one specific event for sustainability practitioners in the video games industry. The Playing for the Planet Awards aims to provide that space.
The first section recognizes work across the games industry in storytelling, energy efficiency optimizations and tools, as well as the efforts carried out by organisations and individuals alike.
The second section recognizes the work of studios that participate in the Green Game Jam, an annual project developed by Playing for the Planet in which teams build environmentally themed content into live games with existing audiences.
Louisa Keight | Project Manager | louisa.keight@playing4theplanet.org
12th June Playing for the Planet Awards open for wider industry
17th July Deadline for Playing for the Planet nominations
31st July Deadline for Green Game Jam nominations
21st August Finalists announced for Playing for the Planet Awards & Green Game Jam Awards
The submission form for the Playing for the Planet Awards contains a number of questions that those applying should submit truthfully to the best of their ability. Judges will mark these questions against the below criteria in a scoresheet which will provide each entrant with an average score.
Judges may also have the opportunity to meet as a group within their categories to discuss the top five entries and choose a winner. However, given the voluntary nature of their position this may not always be feasible.
Since our judges are industry subject matter experts, they can be employed by an organisation that would like to submit for the awards. Whilst we welcome any organisation to submit for the awards even if they employ an individual on our panel of judges, we must note that that particular judge will be exempt from marking the submission of an organisation that they are employed by. In these cases, the average score for this entry will be taken from the other two judges and the third judge will be exempt from any further discussions.
The entries related to the Green Game Jam are judged not by individual questions but via a submission deck that holistically describes the work completed by the studios. As such, judges mark each entry across three main criteria. Whilst some awards will contain similar criteria, they will be chosen distinctly with the specialities of the judges and the category name in mind. Judges will score on a likert scale of 1 - 5 points, with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. (0 for no points / not applicable)
The Playing for the Planet team will shortlist all submissions using this criteria to ensure a minimum level of quality and pass these on to the judges, who will then review them under the same criteria and decide on a winner.
The only awards categories exempt from this procedure are the Jam Spirit Award which will be judged by the Playing for the Planet team, and the Player’s Choice Award which is decided based on the number of votes won from players over the period 1st - 31st June.
Judges: Arnaud Fayolle (Ubisoft Paris), Stefan Werning (Utrecht University) & Joost Vervoort (Utrecht University)
This award celebrates a purpose-driven game that is engaging, impactful and successful in its aims. This award is for games that focus on environmental themes as part of their central narrative or mechanic.
You may submit examples of short-term activations, events or DLC added into an existing game, however these must not have been developed as part of the Green Game Jam.
Judges: Sophie Barteau (Ubisoft Montreal), Demetri Detsaridis (Haveli)
This award celebrates a game that has most effectively integrated energy efficiency optimisations. It recognizes efforts that have led to a positive environmental impact without compromising gamer experience or degrading gameplay fidelity.
We are particularly interested in innovative ideas that save energy, whether on mobile, PC, or console, and reduce emissions upstream so that through these adjustments, there are macro benefits beyond one game.
Judges: Claudia Candidotto (SEGA Europe), Ceri Hutton (Consultant), Kerry Rizzo (Consultant)
This award recognizes the collective efforts of studios in integrating eco-friendly practices, raising environmental awareness, and collaborating with others to inspire positive change within the games community. It celebrates a studio that goes above and beyond on all fronts.
Judges: Jude Ower (Planet Play), Jennifer Estaris (Netflix)
The winners of the 2024 Champion Award will serve as judges for this year’s award, which celebrates an individual who has demonstrated excellent leadership within the games industry on environmental sustainability.
Judges: TBC
The activation that has made the greatest real-world impact.
Judges: Nonna Giri, Thiago Nam, Robbie Hopkins (Google)
The best activation for design, innovation and marketability available on the Google Play store judged by experts from different Google teams.
Judges: Ruby Spiers-Unwin (Pocket Tactics), Bertie Purchese (Eurogamer), Shay Thompson
The best activation for design, impact and innovation as chosen by a panel of games media experts.
Judges: Susanna Pollock (Games for Change), Gautam Shah (Internet of Elephants), Mark Stanley (Consultant)
The activation that most clearly and effectively delivers an impactful call to action.
Judges: Mathias Gredal Nørvig (SYBO), Maike Steinweller & Galina Fedulove (Wooga), Asi Burak (Tilting Point)
This award recognises a game that has implemented their very first green activation as part of the Green Game Jam to engage their community to work together on actions that benefit the planet.
Judges: Gayle Romay (Rewilder), James Mielke (Tigertron), Nic Walker (Consultant)
This award recognises a game that is built by a team of less than 20 people and has implemented a green activation as part of the Green Game Jam. It recognizes the efforts made by teams with often fewer resources available to them.
Judges: The players!
This award is voted for by the player community and recognizes their favorite green activation.
Judges: Alex Avard, Lisa Pak, and Louisa Keight (Playing for the Planet)
This award recognizes a game that lives and breathes the values of the Green Game Jam: collaboration, sharing best practices, working as one team, and cheering on other studios.
