Sports Interactive urges game companies to ditch plastic cases

Football Manager 2020 will feature eco-friendly and recyclable packaging, “an industry first” according to developer Sports Interactive.

Studio director Miles Jacobson announced that the standard edition of the upcoming management simulation will be housed in a 100% recycled gatefold cardboard sleeve, as opposed to the industry standard plastic box.

The printing on the packaging will use vegetable and water-based ink and the game will come with a recycled paper manual.

The Sega-owned studio expects the packaging changes to result in a saving of around 20 tonnes of plastic this year, based on estimated sales of the game.

Jacobson said in July that Football Manager 2019 had cleared two million sales across all platforms for the first time in the history of the long-running series.

As well as being recycled, the packaging is almost entirely recyclable. “Everything can be put into standard recycling bins, with the exception of the disc and (in certain places) the shrink wrap (both of which can be recycled at specialist outlets in certain territories),” Jacobson said.

Listing the materials Sports Interactive is using for the game’s packaging and where they can be sourced, Jacobson urged other companies in the entertainment industries to follow suit.

“I’m throwing down the gauntlet here to ALL entertainment companies who use plastic for their Blu Ray, DVD and CD packaging,” he said. “Imagine how much plastic we could save, how much landfill we could avoid and how much less plastic would make it into the oceans if we were all do this?

“’Ah, but is it more expensive?’ you ask. Well, the simple answer is yes. Each package costs about 20c more, but that extra cost will be partly offset by cheaper distribution costs and partly offset by cheaper destruction costs.”

Jacobson added: “If you are involved in the decision making process when it comes to packaging, particularly in the entertainment industry, think what could happen If we all made small changes like this? We can help at least slow down climate change, but we have to act now. This IS a climate emergency.”

Football Manager 2020 was announced in August, including a Stadia version that will be “the fastest way to experience” the game when it’s released this November.