It seems like for all the ruckus they want to cause with NFTs for some reason, Ubisoft still wants to do right by the world - and they're going fullt tilt on education.
The Ubisoft logo is seen at the Ubisoft E3 press conference, June 10, 2019 in Los Angeles. - The E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center June 11-13. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
Specifically, the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry maker wants to use its own games to teach players about climate change. According to a report by Eurogamer, the studio plans to do this by virtue of the UN-backed Playing For The Planet initiative. The initiative's goals, as per its website, is to use video games to "inspire young people to learn to act in support of the environment.
Among the numerous Ubisoft game franchise to be used for this educational initiative is Riders Republic. The game will reportedly have an in-game event in Phoenix, whose goal is to promote different strategies when controlling wildfires. Aside from that, the event also looks to evoke a certain emotional response about the consequences of wildfires - likely by showing off animal and plant species whose habitats get destroyed by the blaze.
However, the aforementioned event will not be announced to Riders Republic players, as an attempt to make it feel organic.
Another Ubisoft game that's part of the studio's educational efforts is the multiplayer pirate title Skull And Bones. In its own in-game event, players will be exposed to a situation where resource exploitation (i.e. overfishing sharks for their fins) will have dire consequences for the environment, reports NME.
skull and bones
Ubi is just one of multiple studios and game industry organizations that have joined in on the Playing For The Planet's initiative. Among these is Pokemon Go developer Niantic, mobile game giant Gameloft, Bandai Namco, Total War studio Creative Assembly, and even an undisputed tech behemoth in Microsoft, among others.
So far, all of these organizations have combined to achieve great things with Playing For The Planet. The initiative's Green Game Jam, for example, has already helped plant over 266,000 trees by virtue of activation in video games. Furthermore, it has also earned almost $800,000 in charitable donations aimed at environmental care goals.
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Ubisoft's Commitment To Using Games For Education
This latest project from Ubi isn't their only educational venture, too. At the very beginning of their Assassin's Creed 15th Anniversary Celebration stream, the company has revealed that the Discovery Tour modes for Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla will be used in schools to teach history in an interactive way. Check the 13:17 mark:
This all started with Ubisoft making Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Viking Age Discovery Tour standalone for PlayStation, Xbox, Luna, and Stadia. Then, they announced a partnership with Canada's McGill University to help develop a curriculum for teachers and students. The curriculum can be used to help maximize the utility of all Discovery Tour modes from Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla.
But this isn't the first time this has been done. As reported by Game World Observer last year, the studio announced that 52 schools in the UK will also be using these Discovery Tours, via a partnership with the UK-based nonprofit Digital Schoolhouse.
Related: The Top 6 Historical Periods Assassin's Creed Should Visit
