If it often happens in the narrative of games to save a virtual world, ours is more in danger than ever. A recent study of Greenlya specialist in carbon accounting, sheds light on the impact of the JV ecologically speaking. Between console manufacturing, in-game power consumption and streaming on Twitch, each session leaves its mark. So, should we hang up the controller to save the planet?
When pixels pollute
According to the study, a PC gamer emits on average 149 kg of CO2 per year, including machine manufacturing. Multiply this figure by 1.86 billion players and you get 277.14 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The new generation consoles are no better. Microsoft estimates that a recent console emits 72 kg of CO2 per year. With 90 million PS5s and Xbox Series X/S sold until June 2024, the addition rises to 6.48 million tonnes of CO2 annually. The manufacturing and transportation of 117 million PS4s alone generated 8.9 million tonnes of CO2 between 2013 and 2019, according to the University of Cambridge.
Mobile is doing better on paper with 20 kg of CO2 per year and per player. But be careful of appearances. With 2.9 billion daily active players, mobile gaming still produces 58 million tonnes of CO2 per year. The equivalent of Greece’s annual emissions.
On this point, Nintendo and the Switch have managed to do well with only 13.8 kg CO2 per year per player, thanks to reduced console power, as well as its electrical consumption.
Cloud gaming, a false good eco-friendly idea
Play without console or PC, directly via the Internet. On paper, cloud gaming seems to revolutionize the industry while reducing its environmental impact since there is no longer any need to build machines for delivery to the player. However, in reality, it is quite the opposite.
The reason? Without a console to perform the calculations, this work falls to the data centers. These infrastructures devour an immense quantity of electricity, still mainly produced from coal in the world. Lancaster University measured the exact impact. 10 minutes of HD gameplay on Metro Exodus consumes 2 GB of data. Go to 4K and you climb to 3.1 GB. Multiply by millions of players and the environmental bill becomes dizzying.
Do you have to play either physics or demat to be green?
Greenly resolves this thorny question by explaining that dematerialization, despite its servers, remains the best solution. Manufacturing one million discs/cartridges, including packaging, generates 312 tonnes of CO2, not including transport. Download a million copies of a 70 GB game? Only 3 tonnes of CO2.
However, physical copies represent a good part of sales, especially on consoles. Players nostalgic for tangible support therefore seem to be those who pollute the most here, unlike PC players who have switched to everything dematerialized for a long time now. Be careful though, because playing online obviously also consumes. Fortnite requires 100 MB per hour for example. A player who accumulates 1000 hours on Fortnite consumes 97.7 GB, or 3.91 tonnes of CO2. If a million gamers do the same, the footprint rises to 3.91 million tonnes.
When watching pollutes as much as playing
Streaming has transformed video games into spectacles. PewDiePie, Ninja, Squeezie… These types of content creators have tens of millions of subscribers, causing double use of the JV. Greenly calculates that one hour of streaming on YouTube generates 3.2 kg of CO2. If each player watches 30 minutes of stream per day, that represents 584 kg of CO2 per year, an invisible but very real digital pollution, which is added to that of the game itself.
Sony takes a step towards green with its PS5
In order to try to reduce this significant ecological impact, some manufacturers are implementing methods never seen before. This is the case with Sony having just announced a major update to the PS5 in July 2025 which introduces an in-game energy saving mode. This new setting allows compatible games to readjust their performance downwards with the aim of reducing the power consumption of the console by reducing the power required.
The functionality, deployed gradually since September 2025, remains optional. Early compatible titles include Death Stranding 2, Demon’s Souls, and Ghost of Yotei. Sony specifies that some gameplay features may be limited and that VR mode becomes unavailable with this option enabled.
This initiative is part of the program Sony’s ‘Road to Zero’, launched in 2010, which aims to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. The Japanese manufacturer had already announced in 2020 that it had avoided 17.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions thanks to the PS4’s optimized rest mode, with a target of 30 million tonnes by 2030.
The industry is mobilizing (finally)
Sony is not acting alone. The Playing for the Planet Alliance, launched in September 2019 at UN headquarters during the Climate Action Summit, brings together 30 major players in the sector such as Microsoft, Ubisoft and Google. In 2021, more than 50 environmental actions were launched and more than 60% of members aim for carbon neutrality by 2030.
The three console giants also signed the “Games Console Voluntary Agreement”, a European agreement recognized in 2015 which commits them to improving the energy efficiency of their machines, to informing consumers about electricity consumption and to offering out-of-warranty repair services.
What can players do to avoid polluting while playing?
Manufacturers and publishers bear the main responsibility, but players obviously hold a part of it. Greenly recommends favoring digital copies and avoiding purchasing unnecessary accessories.
Completely turning off your console rather than leaving it on standby also represents several kWh saved per year. Optimizing settings, disabling power to USB ports and automatic updates in standby also reduces the bill.
Can gaming go green?
It’s clear that video games are anything but an eco-friendly leisure activity. However, some signs are encouraging. The industry is becoming aware of its impact and is increasing initiatives in this direction. As Alexis Normand, CEO of Greenly, points out: “ We are convinced that the same commitment put at the service of creativity and cooperation in multiplayer environments can be put at the service of the environment. We call on the gaming community to keep the real world in mind, even while streaming. »
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