SGA Launches Sustainable Games Standard One Year After Its Founding

Just over a year after its founding, SGA has reached an important milestone and delivered on its promise: the Sustainable Games Standard, the first global emissions reporting framework created specifically for the games industry.

Even though the “Omnibus” initiative eases the time pressure on many companies, including those in the gaming industry, to deal with EU sustainability reporting requirements, the fundamental goal of reducing CO2 emissions through sustainability obligations remains. In this context, it is all the more important that the Sustainable Games Alliance (SGA), founded in mid-2024, has achieved one of its primary goals and has now presented and launched its Sustainable Games Standard. It is the first global emissions reporting framework created specifically for the games industry. With more than 30 members and partners already involved, the Sustainable Games Standard gives the industry a freely available, practical tool to measure, benchmark, and reduce emissions across development, publishing, distribution, and infrastructure.

“With the Sustainable Games Standard, the industry finally has a framework that reflects how games are actually made, turning ambition into actionable impact. It is a commitment of the industry uniting companies, associations, and researchers under one standard to drive change at scale. Our ambition is to make gaming the most sustainable entertainment medium, and industry wide strategic action based on easily accessible and comparable data is the only way we’ll get there.” said Maria Wagner, Managing Director of the Sustainable Games Alliance.

According to SGA, the Sustainable Games Standard has been built around the unique needs of the games sector and covers all activities along the value chain. From game design and server infrastructure to marketing and hardware, the framework enables companies to

• Track emissions with accuracy specific to games
• Benchmark performance across titles and companies
• Identify improvements that cut costs and reduce environmental impact
• Comply with new regulations in Europe and beyond
• Optimize energy consumption and extend battery life
• Reduce hardware load and optimize performance
• Enhance the player experience

More than 30 members and partners are involved in the standard and use the framework. Importantly, the framework is freely available, ensuring studios of all sizes, from AAA to indie, can take part.

Global Industry Support The Sustainable Games Alliance already unites a broad coalition of studios, publishers, service providers, and associations. Together, these organizations represent every corner of the industry, from pioneering indie developers and global studios to trade associations and research initiatives, reflecting a growing momentum for systemic, industry-wide action on sustainability.

"Energy efficiency is not just a technical detail, it’s a competitive advantage. Longer battery life keeps players engaged on the go, while lower energy demand contributes to a more sustainable game industry. To make real progress, we need reliable ways to measure and compare performance across the industry, and it is exciting to see SGA being a leader of that transformation", said Laurent Gibert, Principal Product Strategy Architect & Co-Lead Unity Montreal.

The SGA itself is giving numerous members and partners the opportunity to have their say in the presentation of the new standard.  For example, Mathias Gredal Nørvig, CEO of SYBO says: "The SGA Standard paves the way for greater transparency and streamlined collaboration between game developers, manufacturers, and service providers to more effectively contribute to emissions reduction. An industry standard for measurement and reporting is the critical next step in making the gaming landscape’s sustainability efforts more efficient and impactful."

And Tommi Lappalainen, Senior Sustainability Manager at Rovio Entertainment, adds: "To accurately measure our company's full carbon footprint, we need transparent data from our partners. While we get detailed emissions reporting for some services like business travel, there are major data gaps when it comes to digital service infrastructure. This prevents us from truly understanding our impact. Standardized reporting for services is essential – it would empower customers and providers alike to make meaningful climate progress. That's why I'm excited to see what we can achieve with the SGA Standard."

SGA is confident that the launch of the Sustainable Games Standard marks the beginning of a new chapter for the industry, where environmental responsibility becomes part of how games are made. It is paving the way for more strategic and systemic reporting and emissions reduction by enabling integration into game engines, platforms, and by service providers, saving developers time and money by delivering better data, faster and with greater transparency freeing up capacities for studios to focus on creating more sustainable, just better games.

Throughout 2025 and 2026, the SGA plans to host workshops, case studies, and presentations that showcase results from early members and demonstrate real-world impact. SGA is calling on developers, publishers, platforms, investors, and associations worldwide to join the initiative and help position gaming as a global leader in sustainable entertainment.

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