Digital games are far more eco-friendly than discs, new study finds

Choosing between physical and digital games often comes down to generational habits and personal taste. However, a recent study shows that downloading games digitally is considerably more eco‑friendly.

A report from the French firm Greenly, titled “The Carbon Footprint of Gaming,” reveals that producing and transporting physical copies harms the environment roughly 100 times more. Manufacturing and packaging one million discs generate about 312 tonnes of carbon dioxide, whereas downloading the same number of 70 GB digital copies produces only around 3 tonnes.

The study’s lead researcher noted in an interview that cloud gaming also has an environmental cost: servers operate continuously and consume substantial amounts of energy. Nevertheless, the impact from manufacturing and packaging physical media remains far greater.

Digital downloads mainly entail the electricity consumed in players’ homes and do not create the industrial emissions associated with producing discs and consoles — processes that represent some of the most significant sources of climate impact.

Source: iXBT.games