Hi, I’m Lambert. I don’t play electronic games, but I’m sure some of my readers do. Has anyone seen this “bad vertising”? Can you block it?
Author: Andrew Sims, Co-Director of the New Weather Institute, Co-Founder of the Badvertising Campaign, Co-Founder of the Rapid Transition Alliance, and Assistant Director of Scientists for Global Responsibility. Originally published on DeSmog.
As a subversive sport amid the sweat and tension of traditional sports, eSports (short for electronic sports, synonymous with gaming) had a chance to blaze a new trail. Free from the polluting sponsorship deals that stigmatize many established sports, and with a predominantly young and growing player and fanbase, eSports could have written a blueprint for 21st century sports and the grave climate challenges it faces.
Unfortunately, esports has fallen into the same trap as football, cricket and so many other popular but easily exploited sports: it has become a playground for the world’s biggest polluters to promote themselves and mislead fans. Competitive gaming has made the leap from dingy bedrooms to the world stage, but in the process, it has slipped on an oil slick.
A new investigation by the Badvertising campaign highlights a disturbing trend in esportswashing. Following an old strategy from the tobacco industry, major polluters are trying to co-opt new generations to normalize climate-polluting products and lifestyles. Since 2017 alone, at least 33 polluting sponsorship deals have been signed between the global esports industry and high carbon polluters: 27 of these are with car manufacturers, 5 with major fossil fuel companies, and 2 with the US military, the biggest warming country on the planet. The most oil-hungry consumers.
Oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have also sensed this opportunity, pouring billions of dollars into the esports sector, sponsoring teams of young gamers and hosting tournaments in power-hungry, air-conditioned arenas. Indeed, the first Esports World Cup culminated in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with more than 1,500 professional gamers competing in 21 games and followed by more than a million fans online.
Despite its relative novelty, esports presents a huge opportunity for polluting companies feeling the pressure on the climate. It’s a fast-growing industry. There are already an estimated 500 million esports fans around the world. That’s a tiny fraction of the 3 billion active gamers, but there’s a lot of room to expand, and it represents an opportunity for polluters to cultivate the next generation.
The Wise Thing
With the rapid growth of the industry, esports has also developed a passionate fanbase that is international, predominantly young and male. In the UK, over 50% of esports fans The ages ranged from 18 to 34, and the majority were male.In 2021, more than six in 10 internet users watching esports globally were elderly. Between 16 and 35 years oldTo understand this youth, only one in four “enthusiastic” soccer fans worldwide Between 25 and 34 years old.
Around this fanbase, a vibrant digital culture and community has been built, fueled by the proliferation of streaming platforms and bound together by memes that are incomprehensible to outsiders. Like all great sports, it’s the community that fuels esports and makes it great. Tapping into this community and leveraging its global digital network is a smart move for companies clinging to a dwindling layer of social approval.
High-carbon industries targeting young people Not new And come In various formsBut esports offer an opportunity to connect with hundreds of millions of young, loyal fans. It’s ironic that these young audiences will be the ones hardest hit by climate change — a crisis for which the newest sponsors of the esports they love bear a disproportionate share of the blame.
Regulators are once again failing to rein it in. The rise of esports washing and its potential impact on the minds of young people requires bolder and better advertising regulation and collaboration with game franchises, but so far, action has been limited.
The immersive nature of e-sports, combined with the current limitations of regulators’ efforts to protect young people from exploitative influences, poses further challenges. In-game advertising blurs the line between advertising and gaming. When Shell entered Fortnite in 2023, players were prompted to refuel their digital cars at a digital gas station to promote V-Power Nitro+ fuel. The ads here part It’s the end of the game. It’s only a matter of time before other polluting companies follow Shell’s lead.
With the future of esports fans and players hanging in the balance in a warming world, those responsible for this fast-growing sport and the community built around it must take seriously the threat posed by polluting sponsorship. To protect players, gamers and fans around the world, esports teams and governing bodies must align their commercial partnerships with their values, their duty of care to players and spectators, and their principles for a livable future and a thriving environment. And they should support and nurture top gamers and streamers when they voice their concerns about climate change.
Esports is on the verge of repeating the mistakes of other traditional sports, of being used as a poster boy for polluters, but it’s not too late to clean up. Polluters who are manipulating the climate must not be given free rein to also manipulate the minds of young people, otherwise it could soon be game over for everyone.
