[Event news] Green Games Summit 2026 champions resilience for people and the planet

This is a press release posted in addition to our usual editorial content.

The Green Games Summit 2026 will bring together leaders from across the global video games industry to explore one of the defining themes of our time: resilience.

Resilience exists in nature, in people, and in communities. It is the ability to adapt, recover, and evolve in the face of disruption, emerging stronger than before. As the world navigates climate change, economic uncertainty, technological transformation, and shifting social landscapes, resilience has never been more critical.

This year’s summit will examine resilience through three interconnected lenses: Our People, Our Industry, and Our Planet, highlighting how lasting progress depends on strengthening each of these foundations together.

Hosted at BFI Southbank in London on Thursday, September 17, 2026, the day will see leaders in the video games industry and environmental experts share how the industry can scale up its ambition on this agenda. Further announcement and a full agenda will be released in mid-August.

Lisa Pak, Head of Operations at Playing for the Planet, said “The Green Games Summit enables professionals to come together to collaborate and explore what more can be done in our industry to help protect and restore the planet as well as, celebrating progress through the awards. This year’s theme of resilience is critical as we continue to go through turbulent times, the planet touching tipping points we have to avoid, and players who are increasingly interested in purpose in play. We’re looking forward to our attendees leaving with a renewed sense of community, purpose and inspiration.”

The Green Games Summit will include a day-packed with keynote speakers, panels, roundtable discussions on key topics affecting the industry, and end with an awards ceremony celebrating the industry’s best and brightest that are leading the way in tackling climate change and inspiring players to take climate action.

The Green Games Summit will be followed by the Playing for the Planet Awards, held from 15:45-17:30 pm on the same day. The winners of the sixth annual Green Game Jam will be announced together with other games businesses, who are leading the way in tackling climate change and inspiring their players to take climate action.

Keir Oldfield-Lewis, Head of Environmental Sustainability at the BFI, said: “We’re proud to continue our partnership with Playing for the Planet to bring the Green Games Summit back to the BFI Southbank. As the UK’s leading body for film and the moving image, the BFI is committed to building a resilient future for the screen industries. Now is the time to celebrate the power of stories in video games to influence, educate and inspire action that shapes a sustainable future for everyone on the planet.”

 

The Green Games Summit is being delivered in partnership with BFI, Bastion, and Liquid Crimson, and with support from Ukie, Video Games Europe, Dutch Games Association, Interactive Games & Entertainment Association, Italian Interactive Digital Entertainment Association (IIDEA), game, Game Only, and Neogames.

Playing for the Planet:

Playing for the Planet is a membership-based alliance activating players globally to protect and restore our planet whilst accelerating decarbonisation across the video games industry. Founded in 2019 at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, the initiative is facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and has more than 50 video games organisations members from around the world.

The initiative is designed to help those active in the games industry to start their sustainability journey and to level up those already on it. Playing for the Planet produces year-on-year reports on member progress and provides resources, research and guidance in areas such as decarbonisation, target setting and storytelling within games to inspire environmental action.

Playing for the Planet organises the popular and commercially successful Green Game Jam, an annual challenge that invites video game studios with live games and existing audiences to create themed in-game content that engages players on a key environmental topic.