A virtual room with a sign directing the player to different features of the Climate Station app: Weather Year, Observations, Projections, Explainer Library, Favourite Location, Dioramas, Credits and Settings.
  • Kieren MayersVP of Environmental, Social, and Governance at Sony Interactive Entertainment
A group of children and adults gathered around a display of the Climate Station app. The screen is displaying charts and images of a globe.
First public showing of Climate Station at London Zoo.

In 2019, at the UN Climate Summit, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) was invited to team up with the United Nations to combat climate change through the Playing for the Planet Alliance, which brings together industry leaders to work towards their sustainability goals. Since then, we have pursued a number of initiatives to contribute to the goals of the alliance and today, we’re proud to launch our latest project as part of this commitment: Climate Station. 

Developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Climate Station uses the latest gaming technology, including virtual reality, to allow players to view, interact with, and understand complex climate data to raise awareness about climate change. With your 4K TV, you can view Climate Station with high quality 4K visuals from PlayStation 5 as you explore a wealth of information. Additionally, PlayStation VR2’s added immersion really brings complex climate data to life. 

Climate Station is available free on PS5 and PS VR2 for players around the globe. The application tells the story of climate change through three acts: Weather Year, Observations, and Projections. There’s also an Explainer Library to explore.

  • In Weather Year, users are introduced to the complex interconnected weather systems of planet Earth through a visual exploration of the meteorological events of 2019. 
  • Observations include 120 years’ worth of climate data, including detailed temperature records for thousands of locations – charting the gradual warming of our planet. 
  • In Projections, data from the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approved climate models allow users to explore how various choices will affect our future climate up to the end of the century, and the impact it would have on the planet.
  • Climate Station also contains an Explainer Library, which features 90 minutes of engaging multi-media content explaining climate change. 

Climate Station can be used in the comfort of player’s homes, but also in research and education settings and as an interactive scientific tool to transform complex data into an immersive experience. Data used in Climate Station is sourced from some of the foremost experts on the subject, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Berkeley Earth, the Climate Research Unit, and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).

SIE also collaborated with veteran meteorologist Laura Tobin, who served as a consultant on the project and lent her voice as narrator of the videos in Climate Station.

“As a meteorologist, I report on weather and climate and over the last 20 years I’ve seen the increased frequency and intensity of severe weather around the world. More and more records are being broken, often in remote parts of the globe but in recent years it’s hitting closer to home. I’m immensely proud of our collaboration on Climate Station. We want audiences to learn more about our amazing planet, use the latest science to see what is really happening, and finally have a greater understanding and appreciation of why change is needed.” – Laura Tobin, Meteorologist & TV Weather Presenter. 

A woman and two men gathered around a showcase of the Climate Station app. The woman is pointing at the screen, that is displaying an image of Earth.
(From left to right) Kieren Mayers, Laura Tobin, and Matthew Gould, CEO of Zoological Society of London

Learning about the realities of climate change can be challenging, but the aim of Climate Station is to leave the audience with a sense of hope for our planet’s future and the options ahead. Climate Station is just the latest step in our efforts to inspire change and drive progress. We remain committed to Sony Group’s Road to Zero plan, which includes our ongoing commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, efforts to increase the energy efficiency of our PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles, support for our data centers to transition to renewable electricity, and more.

“Bringing climate awareness into the homes of millions through gaming will help build both knowledge and action to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. The approach to adapt the science into a game format has been impressive. We look forward to seeing how players react to this new tool and also recognise the leadership of Sony Interactive Entertainment in bringing climate science to consoles across the planet.” – Susan Gardner, Director of the Ecosystems Division, United Nations Environment Programme 

We want to thank all of our collaborators for coming on this journey with us and helping to make Climate Station a reality. We’re excited for players to check out Climate Station to learn more about the science behind climate change, and discover their own climate story.

For more information on Climate Station, please visit:
https://store.playstation.com/concept/10002901

For more information our Environmental efforts, please visit: https://sonyinteractive.com/impact/environment 

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