Monday April twenty second 2024 was Earth Day and every year Niantic, the world’s primary location-based gameplay consultants and creators of smash hit Pokémon GO, prompts its appreciable fanbase to do one thing constructive for the planet.
This 12 months, along with being a part of the Enjoying for the Planet Alliance and taking part within the Inexperienced Recreation Jam the corporate held a collection of in-game occasions and worker initiatives designed to advertise environmental consciousness and motion.
These included:
- Participant-led clear up occasions in native parks around the globe the place gamers who participated might earn in-game rewards in choose video games.
- In-game challenges to assist promote and help sustainability ideas. Examples embrace the in-game recycling marketing campaign in Ingress, a sustainability marketing campaign in Pokémon GO, an academic marketing campaign in Peridot, and a flower planting journey in Pikmin Bloom.
- In-game schooling on how gamers can cut back waste and help a more healthy planet.
- An eighth Wall AR activation to encourage customers to plant digital AR bushes throughout the US, unlocking actual tree plantings within the high 5 US cities.
Plus the corporate’s personal groups in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Bellevue, and London took half in sustainability coaching, cleanup occasions and tree planting, all centered on supporting the well being of native neighborhoods in locations the place our workers reside and work.
Making a distinction – one sport at a time
And the excellent news is that their efforts have made a distinction. The corporate reported in the present day that greater than 3.4 million gamers participated of their Earth Day actions.
In Pokémon GO Neighborhood Ambassadors from around the globe hosted 500 meetups centered on cleansing up native parks. Gamers in Vancouver, Canada gathered on the annual Surfrider seaside clear up, which they attend yearly, whereas in Cardiff, Wales the native Scout group and Maintain Wales Tidy cleared a park of litter.
Pikmin Bloom gamers collectively planted greater than 14 billion in-game flowers throughout its marketing campaign, unlocking all of the seedlings of Decor Pikmin as a reward.
Ingress gamers recycled 22.4 million in-game objects into Unique Matter (XM) as part of their marketing campaign to encourage recycling. Whereas in Peridot gamers decreased their waste by sharing conservation ideas utilizing in-game messaging and social media.
Niantic workers to the rescue
And to spherical out the marketing campaign Niantic workers globally volunteered for native sustainability occasions, clearing invasive plant species, planting native crops and bushes, and selecting up litter in parks.
Yennie Solheim, Niantic’s social affect director stated, “Change doesn’t occur in a single day. We’re proud to take steps every year that unite our neighborhood of gamers, workers, and companions in making a cleaner, more healthy, and extra sustainable future for our planet – all whereas having enjoyable taking part in video games collectively.”