Midgard to showcase carbon-tracked games in GOG and Steam sales event
Carbon accounting platform Midgard is launching a Zero Carbon Quest promotion featuring more than 20 games whose developers have disclosed their carbon emissions, running across GOG and Steam in late November.
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Midgard, a carbon accounting platform for the video game industry, has announced Zero Carbon Quest, an event highlighting titles from developers and publishers who tracked their carbon emissions during production. The event will run on GOG from 19 to 27 November and on Steam from 25 November to 2 December 2024, with sales each day starting at 3pm and ending at 9am CET.
The line-up includes more than 20 games, none of which are required to have an environmental theme. Instead, inclusion is based on whether the studio behind them measured and disclosed its carbon footprint during development. Titles confirmed for the event include Spilled!, Atomic Owl, Lempo, Paper Trail, Don’t Scream and Songs of Silence.
Regulatory backdrop
Midgard says the initiative is intended to raise awareness of upcoming carbon disclosure requirements facing the games industry. According to the company, studios above a certain size will be required to track their carbon emissions from 2025, with failure to comply potentially resulting in fines or loss of eligibility for grants and financing. Midgard also cites data indicating that 72% of gamers consider themselves climate conscious.
Jerome Ibanez, founder of Midgard, said that of the many games the company has worked with, only a small number carried an explicit climate theme, and that the aim of the event is to demonstrate sustainable development practices can apply across any genre, story or team size.
GOG is taking part as a distribution partner. Bartosz Kwietniewski, head of business development at GOG, pointed to environmental initiatives at parent company CD PROJEKT Group, including green campus upgrades, electric vehicle charging points, solar panel installations and the publication of sustainability reports in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He said supporting initiatives such as Midgard’s aligns with encouraging companies of all sizes to disclose their environmental impact.
Developers and publishers wishing to take part in Zero Carbon Quest can apply via a link provided by Midgard. Steam, the digital distribution platform created by Valve in 2003, is also hosting the event as part of its wider marketplace for game creators and publishers.