Join Transform 2021 for the most important themes in enterprise AI & Data. Learn more.
TiMi Studios, the studio behind Call of Duty: Mobile and Arena of Valor, has joined the United Nation’s initiative to battle climate change, Playing for the Planet.
The UN initiative is a collective effort by the game industry to decarbonize and integrate environmental activations into video games. It is facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Shenzhen, China-based TiMi will create educational experiences — both in and out of its games — to prepare players to address critical climate challenges over the next 12 months. TiMi will join the Green Game Jam initiative where game developers find innovative ways to educate and empower players about climate change. TiMi Studios will also explore in the next 12 months how it can reduce its carbon emissions.
Playing for the Planet debuted in September 2019 at the UN Climate Summit, as part of a push by UNEP to support the game industry to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues. Other members of the Alliance include Sony, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Supercell, and iDreamSky. The latter is a Chinese game publisher.
TiMi is the first game development studio from China to join the Playing for the Planet Alliance. TiMi Studios’ titles also include Honor of Kings and the upcoming Pokémon Unite.
Colin Yao, vice president of Tencent and president of TiMi Studios, said in a statement that great games can make positive contributions to society. He said the studio is honored to play its part in the global response to climate change and that games can make an impact and deliver positive changes. The studio will continue to pursue ways to promote sustainability awareness among players, he added.
“TiMi has been exploring a variety of different global social responsibility activations for many months now,” Yao said in an email to GamesBeat. “When we learned about the Playing for the Planet initiative near the beginning of 2021, we saw an opportunity to really make a difference and focused our efforts on finding a way to contribute.”
The UN is interested in gamers because they account for roughly one in every three people on the planet. TiMi Studios will encourage green game design proposals from youth around the world, to stimulate creativity among youth and foster sustainable awareness among next-generation game developers.
TiMi employs more than 3,700 people.
“We’ve always believed that gaming can truly make positive contributions to society,” Yao said. “The United Nations Environment Programme’s recently published Playing for the Planet Annual Impact Report stated that game companies with a reach of millions of monthly active users are in position to have an impact far beyond reducing their own environmental footprint. We saw this as an opportunity to both make an effort to reduce our company’s emissions and help with a much wider effort through our massive player base.”
GamesBeat
GamesBeat’s creed when covering the game industry is “where passion meets business.” What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you — not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. How will you do that? Membership includes access to:
- Newsletters, such as DeanBeat
- The wonderful, educational, and fun speakers at our events
- Networking opportunities
- Special members-only interviews, chats, and “open office” events with GamesBeat staff
- Chatting with community members, GamesBeat staff, and other guests in our Discord
- And maybe even a fun prize or two
- Introductions to like-minded parties
