SEGA plans to make all future physical PC releases recyclable

SEGA Europe has announced that the company plans to make the move to fully recyclable packaging for all future physical PC releases in the name of sustainability.

This isn’t the first time that SEGA has taken steps to keep its environmental footprint down. Back in September 2019, it was announced that Football Manager 2020 would be released in “the most environmentally friendly packaging” SEGA could create.

The first game to receive the eco-friendly treatment will be Total War: ROME II – Enemy at the Gates Edition, which features Total War: ROME II along with the Hannibal at the Gates, Imperator Augustus and Empire Divided DLCs. It’ll launch on February 6th.

We're pleased to announce that all of our future physical releases of PC games will be launched in fully recycled packaging!

Total War: ROME II – Enemy at the Gates Edition from Creative Assembly signals our intent to continue with this environmental initiative. pic.twitter.com/UdcwnQqSFU

— SEGA (@SEGA) January 30, 2020

As per a press release, the new packaging consists of a box made from 100% recycled and recyclable cardboard. The game manuals will also consist of 100% recycled and recyclable material.

All printing will use water and vegetable inks. The disc is an exception, but can be recycled via specialist outlets.

Last, but definitely not least, the game will be protected by shrink-wrap made from 100% recyclable low-density polyethylene.

Lighter packaging means lower fuel costs and while it’ll cost SEGA Europe a little bit more to produce environmentally friendly packaging, the company echos Miles Jacobson’s statement from 2019 regarding Football Manager 2020: it’s “a price worth paying to help secure the planet’s future.”

“This initiative underlines SEGA Europe’s commitment to reducing its plastic waste and its ongoing efforts to implement environmentally friendly business practices,” said Gary Dale, President/COO of SEGA Europe.

“Our estimations with regards to Football Manager 2020 suggested we’d save up to 20 tonnes of plastic packaging for that title alone, so taking this step for the rest of our PC portfolio would see that saving rise exponentially.”

“We’d like to reiterate Miles’ plea from September 2019 to the entertainment industries to investigate similar packaging solutions, across movies, games and music so we can collectively observe a drastic reduction in the production of plastic packaging and its associated waste and pollution, over the coming years.”