SIE Community Impact Programs

How can we be the change we want to see? How can we support everyone in the gaming industry? Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) tackles these questions by supporting causes that reflect our mission, values, and culture. We are striving to use our creativity and technology to inspire change and drive impact beyond gaming. 

In this blog, we share some examples of our progress in supporting youth development. While there are many other initiatives not included here—such as our partnership with Make-A-Wish, through which we have helped fulfill 80 life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses since 2015—today, we want to highlight three key programs that reflect our ongoing commitment to empowering young people.

UK: Empower Youth Through Partnership with The King’s Trust

The King’s Trust (formerly The Prince’s Trust) is the UK’s leading youth charity and has helped over a million young people transform their lives since it was founded by HM The King, when he was HRH The Prince of Wales, in 1976. The organization supports 11 to 30-year-olds who are unemployed, those struggling at school, and those at risk of exclusion by providing a range of programs to help get their lives back on track.  

SIE has partnered with The Trust for 15 years, and in 2024, we achieved a new milestone by raising nearly £75,000 through the Million Makers challenge. 

Million Makers is an entrepreneurial challenge that brings together teams of employees from companies across the UK to raise money to support young people, drive awareness of The Trust’s work and build invaluable personal and professional development experience.

This year, a team of nine colleagues came together to run a series of events and campaigns within the six-month challenge timeframe. These included internal pop-up stores, with support from various Sony divisions, that gave staff a chance to buy unique PlayStation merchandise.

The challenge culminated in a week-long PlayStation Plus Prize Draw for players across the UK, with a range of ‘money can’t buy’ prizes donated by PlayStation Studios. The competition was promoted across external PlayStation channels resulting in 15,000+ entries, and The King’s Trust received a portion of subscription revenues for the duration of the campaign.

The team’s record-breaking fundraising total and innovative cross-functional campaign led to two nominations at the King’s Trust Million Makers National Finals: the Innovation Award and the Youth Impact Award.

“The King’s Trust is incredibly proud of what Sony Interactive Entertainment has achieved in this year’s Million Makers challenge,” said Tom Lamb, Director of Corporate Partnerships at The King’s Trust. “Sony Interactive’s dedication not only supports our mission to empower the next generation but also highlights the powerful role corporate teams can play through Million Makers. It’s clear that the challenge holds a special place in the company’s culture, and we’re extremely proud to have them as part of the journey. We’re excited to see how they continue to grow, lead, and inspire in the years ahead.”

USA: Empowering the Next Generation of Women in Gaming: Partnership with Girls Make Games  

Recognizing the importance of fostering the next generation of talent, SIE has been a proud partner of Girls Make Games (GMG) for the past seven years. 

Building on the foundation of our work in 2023 with GMG, SIE continued its support with mentorship and scholarship opportunities. In March 2024, six of our PlayStation Studios created a unique fundraising initiative in which developers from participating studios signed PlayStation 5 consoles, which were then raffled to support GMG’s Scholarship Fund through GMG-hosted streaming events. 

Additionally, volunteers from five PlayStation Studios participated in GMG’s flagship summer camp, where they shared valuable insights on how they began their careers in gaming as well as specific skillsets in programming, project management, production, and more. On Demo Day, an international pitch competition where participants from the summer camps present their developed games to industry expert judges, Megan Morgan Juinio, Director of Product Development at Santa Monica Studios, and Alison Sluiter, Senior Business Manager of Global Portfolio & Acquisitions, volunteered to support the selection process. As industry experts, the two evaluated innovative game pitches from talented camp attendees, highlighting the creativity and skills these young developers honed during the summer camp.

Girls Make Games Camp

The 2025 Summer Camp Scholarship program is now taking applications.

SIE also continues to sponsor the Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund with its second cohort of recipients. The Fund, launched in fall 2022, provides financial support and career pathway opportunities to girls and young women between ages 18-24. The second cohort recipients will each receive a $10,000 grant ($2,500/year) for a four-year time frame as named recipients of the sponsors. Applications for the 2025 College Scholarship are currently open here.

By empowering young women to pursue careers in gaming, SIE is working toward more equal opportunities to enter the industry. These initiatives are just a starting point, and we will continue to work to ensure everyone’s voices are heard and creativity is celebrated. 

“Girls Make Games was founded with a mission to support young women in their educational and professional journeys. I’m grateful to SIE for their continued support and commitment to building an inclusive gaming industry for the next generation in the past year. It has been a pleasure to work with many talented developers from SIE and have our students learn directly from them,” says Laila Shabir, founder of Girls Make Games.  

Japan: Inspiring Future Generations: SIE and ACE Bring Gaming Education to Classrooms 

In Japan, SIE has partnered with the non-profit organization the Association of Corporation and Education (ACE) to develop pro bono educational classes on the video game industry for elementary, junior high, and high school students. Offered at schools across Japan, these classes provide insights into the gaming industry while fostering students’ media literacy. 

“When we visited schools, we often heard from teachers and students that they had been looking forward to our visit. We felt that having actual SIE employees involved in game production as instructors had a huge impact on the students,” said Masaki Takeuchi, Secretary-General of ACE. “For example, SIE employees had often told the students, ‘If you are thinking of working in the game industry in the future, I would advise not only play games but also experience many other things.’ This message, coming from SIE employees who still love games as an adult, was very persuasive, and we think it gave the students a chance to rethink their relationship with games.”

Since 2006, SIE and ACE have reached approximately 200 schools. In 2023 alone, SIE’s youth support programs reached 19 schools, including one special needs school, with a total of 1,043 participating students. These classes cover various topics, from media literacy to specific skills and knowledge areas like physics, mathematics, and career education. 

Sample Classes Offered: 

1. “Curious Relationship between Game Making and Physics” (Physics) 

This class introduces junior high school students to game programming through physics principles. Using a specially developed golf game, students explore the ‘law of motion’ in mechanics, making complex concepts accessible and engaging. 

2. “People Working for PlayStation®” (Career Education) 

Through this class, students learn about the diverse roles required to launch a new game in the market. By introducing various positions and careers available at SIE, students gain a broader perspective on career development and the value of teamwork within the industry. 

3. “Fractional Calculation with Game Characters” (Mathematics) 

Designed to make fractions more approachable, this class uses popular game characters to teach fractional calculations. By explaining the arithmetic structure, students develop logical problem-solving skills, moving beyond rote memorization of formulas. 

In addition to these specialized classes, SIE has continued to support media literacy by offering sessions on healthy gaming habits and responsible media consumption. The youth-focused programs provided by SIE in 2023 underscore its dedication to cultivating an informed, engaged, and empowered future generation. 

“This initiative has its own appeal in collaborating with a company, and we believe it has contributed to increasing students’ motivation to learn and broadening their horizons,” Masaki Takeuchi said, “Student surveys revealed that they had noticed that physics and mathematics are used in familiar games, that they had learned the importance of studying at school, the importance of cooperation, and that the game had given them an opportunity to think about their future.” 

Looking ahead, SIE aims to broaden the reach and impact of these programs by expanding partnerships with more schools and adapting the curriculum to address emerging topics relevant to young audiences. With a commitment to nurturing future generations, SIE is exploring additional opportunities to develop students’ skills in digital literacy, critical thinking, and responsible gaming. 

Our focus is to inspire change and drive progress to create impact beyond gaming. We aim to forge a path to address our specific social impact; to turn our intentions into action; and to do the right things and to do them well.