Animal Crossings: New Horizons has been named one of the most eco-friendly games of the past year, a new gaming study reveals.
Green Gaming analyses games console power usage, along with player counts, platform compatibility and completion times behind some of the most popular games, to reveal which titles and devices have resulted in the highest carbon footprint over the last year.
The popular animated game, exclusively available on the Nintendo Switch, was released in 2020 – 12 years after the original edition of Animal Crossing: New Leaf.
In the wake of stay at home orders in 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was a roaring success due its social nature, which encouraged players to meet up on their respective islands and host events – including weddings and protests.
According to available data on player counts, there are an estimated 232,528.00 players on Animal Crossing: New Horizons at any one time, while completion times reported on HowLongToBeat suggest each player spends on average 60 hours in the simulated world.
When the kWh and resulting emissions of the Nintendo Switch (0.003kg of CO2 per hour) – the least polluting console analysed in the study – are accounted for, this player count and completion equates to 3,038.98kg per year.
Amongst themes of environmental conservation within gameplay, it’s no surprise to some that the latest edition of Animal Crossing is one of the least polluting gaming titles of the last year – joined by survival horror title Resident Evil: Village.
On the other end of the scale, the least eco-friendly game of the year came out as the PC multiplayer game League of Legends, followed by Fornite and Apex Legends.
Most polluting video games, based on player count: most to least
- League of Legends (58,379 tonnes of CO2)
- Fortnite (6,425 tonnes of CO2)
- Apex Legends (1,610 tonnes of CO2)
- Call of Duty: Warzone (1,479 tonnes of CO2)
- FIFA 22 (926 tonnes of CO2)
Joining the Switch amongst the most eco-friendly devices were the Wii U which emits 0.007kg CO2e per hour, followed by the Xbox Series X/S (0.021kg).
Rogier Beerends, Creative Director at MobileWins commented on the study, saying:
“It’s interesting to delve into how the gaming habits of players impacts the world around them, particularly when it comes to average completion times, game popularity and console efficiency.
“Although it’s unlikely anyone will alter their playing habits as a result of the findings, it does prompt us to consider the impact of our online consumption on the environment, and – in turn – encourage us to take steps to lower our annual carbon footprint where we can.”
Other key findings included that the most popular video games among Twitter fans are FIFA 22, Final Fantasy XIV and Forza Horizon 5, based on a sentiment analysis, while the Xbox Series X has seen the biggest influx of fan support on Twitter over the last year.
To see the full breakdown of Green Gaming’s results, please visit: https://www.mobilewins.co.uk/green-gaming-carbon-footprint-of-consoles/
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