We rarely think about the environmental impact of our hobbies. Yet while gamers have long debated frame rates, graphics cards and download speeds, far less attention has been paid to the electricity powering virtual worlds.

New research suggests some of today’s most popular video games may consume significantly more energy than others, raising questions about gaming’s often-overlooked carbon footprint.

According to a January 2026 report on gaming’s environmental impact, the battle royal title Free Fire produces the biggest carbon footprint of any video game.

The study by casino games aggregator Relum looked at 50 popular titles to measure their electricity use and emissions.

Free Fire produces more carbon emissions than any other video game, releasing 0.17 kg of CO2 every hour of play.
Strategy games are the worst performers when it comes to environmental impact, with Civilization VI and Total War: Pharaoh both appearing in the top three.
GTA V and League of Legends tie for carbon footprint, both consuming half a kilowatt hour during a single gaming session while emitting 0.12 CO2.

Each game was examined to find its realistic power range, then ranked based on how much electricity it uses during an hour of play. The research converted power usage into carbon emissions, showing the pollution levels each game creates. Games received rankings from lowest to highest emissions, with worse scores going to titles that demand more electricity and release more CO2.

‘Gaming hardware has become so powerful that people don’t think about the electricity cost anymore,’ explains Razvan-Lucian Haiduc, Chief Product Officer at Relum.

‘A high-end gaming PC running at full capacity uses more power than most household appliances. The gap between old and new games is huge, too. Playing a retro title like Super Mario barely registers on your power bill, but modern games with cutting-edge graphics can push your system to use as much electricity as running your air conditioner.’

Here’s a look at the top 10 games with the biggest carbon footprints:

Game	Lowest realistic power usage (W)	Highest realistic power usage (W)	Energy Consumption (kWh)	CO2 Emissions (kg CO2) in 1 hour	Energy Consumption (kW per 10 hour)	CO2 Emissions (kg CO2) in 10 hours
Free Fire	130	750	0.75	0.17	7.50	1.73
Civilization VI	550	562	0.56	0.13	5.62	1.29
Total War: Pharaoh	460	560	0.56	0.13	5.60	1.29
Red Dead Redemption 2	441	531	0.53	0.12	5.31	1.22
Baldur’s Gate III	440	520	0.52	0.12	5.20	1.20
Wolfenstein: Youngblood	415	506	0.51	0.12	5.06	1.16
Assassin’s Creed: Mirage	460	502	0.50	0.12	5.02	1.15
League of Legends	200	500	0.50	0.12	5.00	1.15
GTA V	300	500	0.50	0.12	5.00	1.15
Forspoken	421	500	0.50	0.12	5.00	1.15

Free Fire

Highest power usage: 750 watts
Energy per hour: 0.75 kWh
CO2 emissions per hour: 0.17 kg

Free Fire has the worst environmental impact among video games. The battle royale title pushes gaming hardware to 750 watts during play, triple what most games demand. As a result, every hour of Free Fire releases 0.17 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere. This means that over a typical 10-hour gaming session, the game produces 1.7 kg of carbon emissions, roughly equal to the pollution from a short car trip.

Civilization VI

Civilization VI comes second for carbon footprint. The strategy game demands 562 watts at its peak, and an hour of building empires there releases 0.13 kg of CO2, just slightly behind Free Fire. The game’s environmental cost grows quickly during extended sessions, as players often spend 5 to 10 hours on a single campaign. Over 10 hours of gameplay, Civilization VI produces nearly 1.3 kg of emissions.

Total War: Pharaoh

Total War: Pharaoh ranks third with a carbon footprint nearly identical to Civilization VI. As a strategy title, the game pushes the hardware to the maximum as it renders thousands of individual soldiers across detailed terrains. Due to this, it requires about 560 watts and creates 0.13 kg of CO2 each hour. A full day of commanding ancient armies in Total War can release more than a kilogram of carbon into the air.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is also on the list. The open-world western game demands 531 watts of power, over two times more than Minecraft. As a result, it produces 0.12 kg of CO2 per hour of gameplay. While this sits 30% below Free Fire’s rate, it remains far above most other games tested. Overall, ten hours of playing RDR2 can create 1.2 kg of emissions.

Baldur’s Gate III

Baldur’s Gate III rounds out the top five worst games for carbon emissions. The fantasy RPG uses 520 watts during play, releasing 0.12 kg of CO2 each hour. Despite being a slower-paced role-playing game, Baldur’s Gate III keeps hardware working at a higher capacity than most action titles. So, gamers who will dedicate the standard 100 hours to a full playthrough will produce nearly 12 kg of carbon emissions.