Strategies Horizon

What Strategies Horizon does

STRATEGIES (Sustainable Transition for Europe's Game Industries) is a four-year Horizon Europe funded research project launched in 2023 and coordinated by Joost Raessens at Utrecht University, with a core team of 9 employees and research partners at Manchester Metropolitan University (Manchester Game Centre), TH Köln (Cologne Game Lab), and Spielfabrique. Its mission is to support Europe's game industries in transitioning toward sustainability — addressing both the environmental footprint of game production and play, and the cultural potential of games to drive environmental awareness — in alignment with the European Green Deal. The project's audience comprises game developers and studios, academic researchers and universities, and EU/national policymakers and funders; it does not sell to commercial customers and all outputs are distributed at no cost.

The project's core outputs are research frameworks and open-access resources rather than commercial products. Principal assets include the Green Mediography platform (an annotated repository of 200+ ecogame case studies with comparative analyses across digital games, mods, and tabletop role-playing games), the Ecogame Design Pattern Library (with three interlocking taxonomies: genre, motif, affective tags), the Franchise Hacking Toolkit (a pedagogical resource built around Magic: The Gathering for climate communication), the Sustainable Games Standard (co-developed with the Sustainable Games Alliance), and a steady cadence of white papers, policy briefs, and reports on AI and sustainability, VR for environmental sustainability, and game hacking education. Distribution is entirely digital, centered on the project website, an email newsletter, Zenodo academic repositories, and direct downloads; outreach runs through industry events (Gamescom, GDC, SPIEL Essen), academic conferences, workshops, and summer schools.

The business model is non-commercial grant funding. STRATEGIES is funded under EU Horizon Europe grant agreement No. 101094373 with co-funding from UK Research and Innovation (via Innovate UK) under grant agreement 10106920; specific grant amounts are not publicly disclosed. There is no pricing model, no customer revenue, and no equity or ownership structure, as the entity is a research consortium rather than a commercial enterprise. Strategic value is generated through research influence, policy input, standards-setting via the SGA partnership, and ecosystem positioning rather than through revenue capture.

Name

Strategies Horizon

Legal name

STRATEGIES (Sustainable Transition for Europe's Game Industries)

Website

https://strategieshorizon.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

STRATEGIES is a Horizon Europe funded four-year research project launched in 2023, coordinating academic and industry collaboration across Europe to support sustainability transition in the games industry through open-access research frameworks, design pattern libraries, and educational toolkits.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Research Services for the Games Industry

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHACAK

Sustainability & ESG Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Management Consulting

SECONDARYBPABALAK

Sustainability Engagement, Training & Behavior Change Programs (On-site)

Business & Public Services/Facilities Management & Building Services/Waste, Recycling & Sustainability Programs (On-site)

Keywords

• Sustainable game research
• Ecogame design patterns
• Green games standard
• Games industry sustainability
• Horizon europe research

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grant Funding: STRATEGIES is funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe grant agreement No 101094373 and the UK Research and Innovation (via Innovate UK) under grant agreement 10106920. The project does not generate commercial revenue but rather distributes research findings, tools, and policy recommendations to the games industry at no cost.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

STRATEGIES is a Horizon Europe funded research coordination project that produces freely available research, design frameworks, and policy recommendations to help Europe's game industries transition to sustainability. Its core deliverables include the Green Mediography repository, the Franchise Hacking Toolkit, the developing Ecogame Design Pattern Library, the Sustainable Games Standard, and a series of reports and white papers addressing the environmental footprint of games and games' cultural potential for sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green Mediography: An annotated online repository of green media case studies used in environmental communication, grassroots eco-practices and climate action
• Ecogames
• Franchise Hacking Toolkit
• The Sustainable Games Standard

Products and services

• Green Mediography Annotated online repository of 'green media' case studies for environmental communication, grassroots eco-practices, and climate action, including comparative analysis of ecogames, digital mods, and tabletop role-playing games. Built for game developers, educators, and researchers seeking reference examples of sustainability-focused games.
• Franchise Hacking Toolkit Practical toolkit for 'franchise hacking' using Magic: The Gathering as a case study to foster climate communication and education. Includes step-by-step guides, card design templates, and NanDeck software integration for creating eco-themed card decks. Aimed at educators, researchers, students, and creators.
• Ecogame Design Pattern Library Developing library of design patterns for ecogame design embedded within the Green Mediography platform with three interlocking taxonomies (genre, motif, and affective tags). Built for game developers and researchers designing sustainability-focused games.
• The Sustainable Games Standard A games industry-specific sustainability standard developed jointly by STRATEGIES and the Sustainable Games Alliance. Provides the games industry with a defined framework for assessing and improving sustainability practices.
• Virtual Reality for Environmental Sustainability Report Maps the global landscape of VR experiences and institutions at the intersection of immersive technology and environmental engagement, including a catalogue of 79 sustainability-focused VR experiences. Produced for VR creators, researchers, and sustainability-focused immersive media producers.
• AI and Sustainability in Game Development Guidance Joint STRATEGIES/SGA guidance distilling findings from STRATEGIES research into practical takeaways and risk-management considerations for game developers navigating AI tools. Aimed at game developers integrating AI into production workflows.
• Franchise Hacking Toolkit (Franchise Hacking Methodology) Resource for ecogame design using the Franchise Hacking methodology, addressing game franchise modification for sustainability themes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 79 sustainability-focused VR experiences catalogued in Virtual Reality for Environmental Sustainability report
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Sustainable Games Alliance (SGA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Sustainable Games Alliance is a global non-profit cooperative co-founded with STRATEGIES researchers. The partnership involves joint development of the Sustainable Games Standard, Academic Network coordination, research collaboration on AI and sustainability, and shared events including SGA Meet-ups and Academic Global Action series. STRATEGIES researcher Chloé Wake serves as Academic Network Coordinator for SGA.
• Utrecht UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject coordinator Joost Raessens is based at Utrecht University. The university hosts WP5 lead Dr Stefan Werning and Associate Professor Dr Joost Vervoort. Joint research includes VR for Environmental Sustainability and ecogame design pattern work.
• Manchester Metropolitan University (Manchester Game Centre)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey research partner led by Dr Chloé Germaine (Comms Lead, WP6 lead) and Prof Paul Wake (Scientific Lead). Contributes research on board game sustainability, game hacking education, and Happy Shoppers card game. Research on AI and sustainability published with MMU researchers.
• TH Köln (Cologne Game Lab)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of WP2 lead Prof Dr Sonia Fizek and researcher Dr Ruth Dorothea Eggel. Organizes the 2026 STRATEGIES Summer School and hosts Button Festival panel/workshop activities.
• SpielfabriquecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean partner contributing to WP4: Policy Innovation research, co-organizing games funding and policy workshops, and building the community of practice for games for better futures.
• Games for Culture Cluster (GCC) / HAMLET ProjectmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTRATEGIES participates in the Horizon Europe Games for Culture Cluster, operating under the HAMLET project. The cluster brings together gaming projects that have received Horizon Europe funding for regular meetings, knowledge sharing, and policy alignment. Coordinated by DG RTD and REA.
• Green MediographycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative platform between STRATEGIES and Utrecht University hosting the annotated repository of ecogame case studies. Provides taxonomy linking design patterns to game analyses and climate communication research.
• GREAT ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFellow Horizon-funded project in the Games for Culture Cluster. STRATEGIES researchers from Spielfabrique and Manchester Met participated in the GREAT Final Event policy session on gaming industry policy-making.
• Anticipaly ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating project on the 'Seeds of Good Anthropocenes' research methodology, contributing to the joint paper on transforming the videogame industry published in Ecology and Society.
• Terragami InteractiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian video game studio with impact focus, founded by Jan Steinhauser. Collaborates with STRATEGIES research on climate communication. Demo Hotspot Earth showcased at Button Festival.
• Octo5 StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung Austrian development studio whose debut title Pollucean addresses marine and environmental pollution. Won Austrian student competitions in 2025. Demo showcased at Button Festival panel.
• Green Games Guide (GGG)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity-authored resource for sustainable design in tabletop games. STRATEGIES researchers Paul Wake and Chloé Germaine joined the GGG board. STRATEGIES research contributed directly to GGG version 1.1 update, including case studies and materials guidance.
• Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition (CIIIC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch national program funded by Growth Fund with budget over €250 million (2026-2029). Project coordinator Joost Raessens serves on the Supervisory Committee. Aligns with STRATEGIES work on immersive experiences and environmental engagement.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SustainableGamesAlliance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/strategies-horizon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Strategies Horizon