Ubisoft wants to spread climate change awareness with these in-game events

Ubisoft has detailed how two of its games hope to spread awareness about the impact of climate change.

The details come as part of the 2022 Green Game Jam (opens in new tab), which judged games on the three-fold theme of Food, Forests, and our Future.

In the game’s impact statement, Ubisoft said Skull and Bones (opens in new tab) will use in-game events to challenge the player with environmental issues such as how the demand for shark fins is affecting the ocean.

“Much like our own oceans, this world provides many resources to benefit them on their adventure but also opens the possibility of exploitation,” Ubisoft writes in its application for Skull and Bones (opens in new tab). “Our first activation will address resource exploitation, showing what happens in the game world and the real world when the demand for sharks’ fins results in the overfishing of sharks. Players will have the choice to contribute to marine wildlife protection and comprehend the destructive nature of the shark fin trade.”

Riders Republic (opens in new tab), on the other hand, will have an event from the moment the game begins that sees the sky go orange throughout the entire game because of wildfires, with players equipped with gas masks by default. As part of the game, they will have to reduce the risk of fire spreading and identify the most fragile and flammable areas of Sequoia National Park (thanks, NME (opens in new tab)).

The Playing For The Planet Alliance was launched in 2019 during the Climate Summit at UN Headquarters in New York in recognition that its alliance members reach “more than one billion video game players” combined. Members include Bandai Namco, Creative Assembly, Microsoft, Niantic, Sony, and Sega, amongst others.

The Green Game Jam itself saw Hay Day secure two awards, with other award winners including Riders Republic, Brawlhalla, June’s Journey, Imagine Earth, TerraGenesis, and Carbon Island.

Ubisoft’s seafaring adventure, Skull and Bones, popped up on the ESRB website (opens in new tab) rated “Mature” last week, adding credence to a recent rumor that Ubisoft is set to showcase Skull and Bones’ changes and improvements sometime in the week commencing July 4 (opens in new tab).

Beleaguered by setbacks and delays, Skull and Bones was originally revealed at E3 2017, and we’ve seen and heard surprisingly little since then beyond getting delay announcements in 2018 and then again in 2019.

Read up on our new games 2022 (opens in new tab) guide for a complete look at all the games launching over the next few months.

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