Former Playmob CEO Jude Ower becomes Sphaira Innovation UK CSO
New alliance comes as Sphaira’s PlanetPlay launches Make Green Tuesday Moves campaign and ahead of new collective UNDP initiative
LONDON, May 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Sphaira Innovation, a not-for-profit harnessing the power of people and technology to make positive change, has acquired video games market insights specialist Playmob.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, creates a formal relationship between Playmob and Sphaira Innovation’s PlanetPlay, which is bringing the games industry and players together to fight climate change.
Playmob CEO Jude Ower – who now becomes Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Sphaira UK – has worked closely with PlanetPlay on the launch of its Make Green Tuesday Moves campaign, which aims to help games studios and players make important real-world impact in the fight against climate change.
Alongside PlanetPlay CEO Rhea Loucas, Ower also recently led a games industry delegation to the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Climate Promise event at UN HQ in New York – an initiative to support countries as they increase their climate action contributions.
Meanwhile, Ower is also the Co-Founder of the Playing For The Planet Alliance and Co-Author of the recently published book “Gaming for Good: Unlocking the Power of Gaming to Create a Better World for Us All,” which also supports green projects via PlanetPlay.
And in 2021, she worked with the UNDP on the “People’s Climate Vote,” the biggest survey of consumer attitudes towards climate change, which was facilitated through Playmob’s innovative game insights platform and reached 33 million gamers worldwide. The survey had 1.2 million validated votes in 50 countries around the world.
She is speaking this week at the UK Government’s Department for Business & Trade GREAT FUTURES event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she is discussing how the UK video games industry can work with Saudi Arabia in areas such as gaming and sustainability. She is joined at the event by Sphaira Innovation UK Chairman and Sphaira Innovation AG Board Member Dirk van Daele.
Working alongside PlanetPlay under the Sphaira Innovation umbrella, Playmob is again working with the UNDP on a new and even more ambitious international study of whether people consider climate change to be a global emergency, and how they would like their countries to tackle the issue.
Sphaira Innovation UK CSO Jude Ower said: “Playmob’s mission is closely aligned with PlanetPlay, and we are delighted to announce that we are merging our important efforts, and Playmob is being acquired by PlanetPlay. Through the projects we have been working on together, it is clear that our partnership is a strong move for our industry and pushing the sustainability x gaming agenda forward. PlanetPlay and Sphaira is the right home for Playmob and we are excited for the next part of our green gaming journey together.”
Sphaira Innovation UK Chairman & Sphaira Innovation AG Board Member Dirk van Daele offered: “After having been accepted by major game studios and music artists in supporting our not-for-profit eco donate platform, we are excited for Playmob and Jude to join us. Her efforts and established track record in ‘playing for good’ will help us to scale even faster for the benefit of the climate.”
PlanetPlay CEO Rhea Loucas added: “PlanetPlay as a disruptive NPO is constantly seeking innovative solutions for engaging billions of gamers as part of our mission to combat climate change. We have already been working closely for a long time with Playmob and Jude Ower on a few exciting projects; with the acquisition, we will be able to join forces and achieve our goal together. With three billion players around the world, and through the combination of our gaming and sustainability efforts, we can all collectively make a difference for our planet.”
To download supporting image assets, click here.
To find out more about Playmob’s work with the UNDP on the People’s Climate Vote click here.
To find out more about PlanetPlay’s Make Green Tuesday Moves initiative, click here.
About PlanetPlay
PlanetPlay, the first climate conscious games marketplace, is a not-for-profit digital platform that allows everyone around the world to contribute to climate action through in-game purchases and gameplay with affiliated game studios. PlanetPlay is a unique platform through which to inspire, educate and mobilize players in support of the planet. They are committed to unlocking the potential of green initiatives through the Games Industry. The games industry has enormous potential to support positive climate action globally. Having driven over $2.2 million in climate project funding in its first year, PlanetPlay is partnering with the world’s forward thinking games studios to fight the climate crisis and are constantly developing new initiatives to launch. For more information, visit www.planetplay.com.
About Playmob
Playmob is a market insights platform harnessing the power of gaming to understand what people think, feel and value over time. We reach billions of people from all corners of the planet by engaging them with games that entertain, education and excite, to learn what they care about and value. We see a world where gaming gives organizations and individuals insights that allow them to make better decisions for themselves and for the planet. Our mission is to unlock billions of actions that positively impact global issues. Playmob is also a proud founding member of the Playing For The Planet Alliance. Find out more at www.playmob.com.
About Sphaira Innovation
Sphaira Innovation AG was founded in November 2021 in Zug, Switzerland. It was established as a not-for-profit company supporting positive changes to the world. We believe purpose unites us, with our unique business model, everyone, every moment, every effort should be celebrated and we shall make the world a better place. Sphaira Innovation Ltd (UK) is a fully owned subsidiary of Sphaira Innovation AG. Find out more at www.sphaira-innovation.com.
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