What Do Video Gamers Think About Global Warming?

A survey of 2,034 U.S. adult video gamers reveals that their beliefs about global warming—such as the fact that it is happening and human-caused—align closely with the general U.S. population. However, video gamers exhibit higher levels of worry, a stronger personal sense of responsibility, and a greater willingness to engage in political and consumer activism compared to the broader public. The report also highlights that a majority believe the gaming industry has a responsibility to reduce its carbon emissions and that the gaming community could collectively influence government and business actions.

• The beliefs of U.S. video gamers regarding global warming are nearly identical to the general U.S. population: 73% believe global warming is happening and 56% believe it is mostly human-caused.
• Video gamers report higher levels of emotional distress and personal concern than the general U.S. population, with 70% expressing worry about global warming compared to 64% of all U.S. residents.
• Video gamers show a higher propensity for climate-related activism than the general U.S. public, including greater willingness to sign petitions (59%), volunteer (49%), or engage in non-violent civil disobedience (38%).
• There is significant support within the gaming community for industry accountability, with 56% stating the gaming industry should reduce its own carbon emissions and 45% believing the industry should be doing more to address global warming.
• Video gamers express confidence in the collective efficacy of the gaming community to influence local businesses (52%), corporations (52%), and various levels of government (48-50%).
• Exposure to climate content within gaming is relatively low, with only 22% of respondents seeing or hearing global warming content in games or streams in the last 12 months, though 13% took action based on that content.
• When seeking information on global warming, video gamers trust family and friends (69%) and climate scientists (69%) most, while political leaders (32%) and corporations (35%) are the least trusted.

APA

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication (n.d.). What Do Video Gamers Think About Global Warming? https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/08/video-gamers-global-warming-2022b.pdf

Chicago

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. What Do Video Gamers Think About Global Warming? n.d. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/08/video-gamers-global-warming-2022b.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Yale Program on Climate Change Communication |title=What Do Video Gamers Think About Global Warming? |url=https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/08/video-gamers-global-warming-2022b.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{yaleprogramonclimatechangecommunicationndwhat, author = {{Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}}, title = {{What Do Video Gamers Think About Global Warming?}}, institution = {Yale Program on Climate Change Communication}, url = {https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/app/uploads/2022/08/video-gamers-global-warming-2022b.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }