Research Summary: Hot Games: Towards a Holistic Assessment of the Planet Warming Emissions of Video Games based on 2024-2025 Data

This research paper, "Hot Games: Towards a Holistic Assessment of the Planet Warming Emissions of Video Games based on 2024-2025 Data," provides an updated and comprehensive analysis of the global environmental impact of the video game industry. It synthesizes publicly available data across various categories including game development, hardware, sales, download sizes, play time, and service subscriptions, aiming for a detailed yet critiquable assessment of planet-warming emissions.

Why it matters

Understanding the environmental footprint of the video game sector is critical for informing sustainability strategies and operational adjustments across technology, entertainment, and manufacturing industries. This research provides a data-driven foundation for assessing the impact of digital consumption and production, enabling stakeholders to identify key areas for emissions reduction and develop more sustainable practices.

Key insights

• The research offers a holistic assessment of the global environmental impact specifically related to the production and use of video games.
• It leverages a broad spectrum of publicly available data, encompassing game development, hardware, sales figures, download sizes, player engagement metrics (time spent playing), and subscription data for multiplayer and cloud services.
• This study updates previous assessments published in 2020 and 2022, incorporating more current 2024-2025 data.
• The analysis categorizes emissions broadly but with sufficient detail to allow for future scrutiny and improvement.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.19040