Sports Interactive and its parent company Sega are getting rid of plastic packaging for Football Manager 2020.
In an open letter, Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson discussed using environmentally friendly packaging.
Football Manager 2020's disc will come in a cardboard sleeve with a paper manual, both of which are made 100% recycled materials. The case will be shrink wrapped in polyethene that is 100 per cent recyclable.
"There are lots of problems in the world right now, and climate change is definitely one of them," said Jacobson in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.
"There currently isn't a silver bullet to solve it, but we know from science that there are things that we can do as individuals and companies to help slow it down or reverse it, so we've been looking at ways that we can reduce our carbon footprint.
"The new packaging is one of those ways. No more landfill requirements. Way less plastic. It still looks great. It's still solid. The disc is still secure. But it has less environmental impact in many different ways.
"So we'd be stupid not to do it, and if anyone from other games or entertainment companies is reading this, you'd be stupid not to do it too."
The real cost
However, the new packaging is 30 per cent more costly - though the price of the game will not rise, meaning buyers will not be affected by the price change. The changes to the packaging are expected to save “around 20 tonnes of plastic this year.
Jacobson hopes the change in packaging catches on, encouraging other companies in the industry to do the same thing. He wants all future packaging across all platforms to support eco-friendly packaging.
He continued: "I would be very disappointed if everyone didn't follow suit, including console manufacturers for next-gen. I just can't think of a single reason why someone wouldn't want to have their work in more eco-friendly packaging," said Jacobson.
"I'm actually thinking bigger than just games. The whole entertainment industry uses way too much plastic in its packaging. Film companies can make the switch just as easily, and the music industry can easily adapt for CD's and change their vinyl shrink-wrap to one that can be recycled."
