Horizon Forbidden West, the sequel to the critically acclaimed PS4 title Horizon Zero Dawn, was one of the most anticipated PlayStation 5 games in early 2022. The February 18th launch was received well, as critics generally praised the open-world adventure for providing players with even bigger and more beautiful environments to explore with protagonist Aloy.
Understanding that more and more young people will be dealing with the consequences of climate change during their lifetime, PlayStation decided to support the game’s launch with an environmental initiative that will make a difference to the planet’s health: planting trees.
PlayStation and developer Guerilla Games announced that they are creating “Aloy’s Forests” around the world by partnering with multiple reforestation projects, including Arbor Day Foundation in the US, The Eden Project in the UK, Forest and Bird in New Zealand, MyTree in France, WWF-Canada, and Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald in Germany.
Many of the above projects have agreed to plant trees for certain trophies unlocked or shared by players during the game. The entire mission is supported by Play4Forests, a UN Environment Program and UN-REDD initiative as part of the Playing for the Planet Alliance.
PlayStation said it sees a parallel between Aloy’s quest and the real-world challenge that climate change presents, noting that “Aloy’s quest to restore order and balance to her world is a reminder about the importance of preserving nature and biodiversity on planet Earth in the years and decades to come.” Moreover, the company reiterated its commitment to help preserve the planet and “to realize a sustainable society by achieving a zero environmental footprint throughout the life cycle of our products and business activities by the year 2050.”
Sony’s decision to spotlight an environmental cause tied to the launch of one of its top gaming properties should be well received by its audience and gamers in general, as Interpret’s New Media Measure®, shows that gamers tend to prefer brands that are environmentally conscious more so than the general US population. Moreover, PlayStation gamers rank higher than both mobile and PC gamers and almost as high as Xbox and Nintendo Switch gamers when it comes to preference for brands that favor the environment.
