At the Crossroads of Game Studies and Business Ethics: Sustainability Obligations

This paper examines the sustainability obligations of stakeholders in the video game industry, arguing that the industry has made comparatively little systematic progress on sustainability and corporate social responsibility since scholars first raised these concerns. The authors pursue two aims: first, to document high-profile challenges across the economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainability, and second, to apply three business sustainability frameworks to identify the industry's normative obligations and map how its stakeholders can respond.

On the economic side, the paper points to recurring market disruptions among shareholder-driven triple-A publishers, the acquisition or closure of many mid-sized developers, and the difficulty independent developers face in gaining visibility amid a flood of releases. Mobile business models built on user data extraction and high-spending players, along with free-to-play loot boxes and gacha mechanics that approach gambling, are identified as ethically and regulatorily contentious. Social challenges include crunch, unionization conflicts, self-exploitation among indie developers, and persistent shortcomings in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Environmentally, the authors argue that the industry's dependence on hardware, data centers, and distribution networks, together with rebound effects, e-waste in the global south, and growing carbon costs from NFTs and increasingly powerful processors, suggests the industry's footprint will expand.

To assess obligations, the authors draw on the European Commission's CSR framework, Ulrich's integrative economic ethics, and Dyllick and Muff's "business sustainability 3.0" approach. They conclude that the industry is not a unified actor but a network of publishers, studios, trade associations, consumer groups, NGOs, and policymakers whose interests are partly aligned and partly in conflict. The mapping, based on an international assessment of stakeholders' awareness, willingness, capacity, and practical ability, suggests that strategic alliances among forward-thinking actors will be essential to progress.