The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been helping children in need of emergency help since 1946 after World War II. It helps with emergencies for children in need of care, from providing clean water to protecting them from violence, abuse, exploitation and climate threads.
It’s a big job, and to draw attention to its cause, it has turned to gaming, said Louise Lane, chief marketing and partnerships officer at UNICEF UK, in an interview with GamesBeat.
UNICEF has set up a game bundle in partnership with PlanetPlay that players can buy to contribute to UNICEF causes. And 100% of PlanetPlay’s net profits from the PlayForEveryChild PC Games Collection will support UNICEF’s work for children.
The need is great. UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories, and this funding allows UNICEF to reach children wherever the need is most urgent, whether responding to emergencies, supporting long-term development programmes or helping
communities recover from crises.
This is important because:
Across the world, children are facing overlapping challenges including conflict, displacement, hunger, climate shocks and the collapse of essential services.
Globally, 1.1 billion children are exposed to at least three overlapping climate
hazards.
More than 200 million children across 133 countries and territories will need
humanitarian assistance in 2026.
More than 460 million children, or around 1 in 5 children globally, are living in
or fleeing from conflict-affected areas.
UNICEF and gaming
This partnership with PlanetPlay represents UNICEF UK’s first dedicated gaming
fundraising initiative. Globally, UNICEF has a longstanding track record of engaging with the gaming sector through collaborations with platforms, publishers, esports organizations, creators and gaming communities.
Examples include work with Team Liquid and Kings League, alongside wider initiatives that use gaming to drive fundraising, advocacy, skills development and awareness for children.
For UNICEF, gaming is more than a fundraising channel. It is a space where children
and young people can be protected, empowered, heard and supported to thrive. UNICEF’s role in gaming is to help ensure that digital play is safe, inclusive and
beneficial for every child, bringing a child rights lens to partnerships, innovation and
engagement across the gaming ecosystem.
This includes promoting children’s rights and online safety, supporting responsible
innovation in technology and gaming, and working with industry partners to create positive outcomes for children. Through initiatives such as Children’s Rights and Online Safety and Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC), UNICEF helps encourage safer design, wellbeing and child rights considerations both before and within gaming experiences.
UNICEF also works to connect gaming with learning, skills and future opportunities.
Through programmes and initiatives including the Game Changers Coalition, UNICEF Game Jams, Generation Unlimited and Giga, UNICEF supports digital skills development, connectivity, creativity and youth engagement around the world.
Alongside this, UNICEF mobilizes gaming communities through initiatives such as
Play for Every Child, where it works alongside studios, esports, streamers, platforms,
and fandoms to turn participation into fundraising, advocacy, and awareness.
The PlanetPlay partnership builds on this broader ambition, harnessing the reach,
creativity and influence of the gaming community to help raise vital funds for children
around the world.
I spoke with Lane and Jude Ower, who wears a number of hats. She is founder/CEO of Playmob; cofounder of the Playing for the Planet Alliance; co-author of Gaming for Good; and co-host of the Good Game Club podcast. She’s also chief strategy officer of PlanetPlay.
Here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
Jude Ower: The partnership came about from Rhea Loucas, the founder of PlanetPlay. She met Ali Habib, who leads the gaming initiatives in the U.K. specifically for UNICEF. Rhea met with Ali and had a discussion around what we could do together. At PlanetPlay we focus on raising money for climate initiatives, but there’s lots within that. She really liked the angle of thinking about the next generation. Who are we leaving the planet to? It’s the children of today. We liked that way of being able to do something together.
After a few discussions–I think it’s been about 18 months now. When we come to the idea of what we’re actually doing, it’s quite simple, but getting to where we are took a bit of time, shaping up the partnership. It’s a multi-year partnership. The wider team met with Ali last year at Gamescom, and it feels great this year to go out there and talk about what’s going to happen, now that everything has been finalized. That’s the origin.
Louise Lane: From our point of view, UNICEF is always really excited to work with new sectors and exciting partners to make change for children. We do that in lots of different ways. When the conversations started happening with PlanetPlay, the opportunity to do this, it felt like an exciting moment. It felt like we were connecting a new audience to UNICEF’s work. From our point of view, UNICEF is the world’s leading organization for children. The world right now is a very difficult place to be a child. One in five children are either living in or fleeing a conflict zone. We have multiple planetary emergencies all over the world.
Part of my job is I lead our humanitarian response at UNICEF U.K., making sure that we are talking about emergencies, but also raising as much money as we possibly can, because they’re underfunded. What makes the partnership with PlanetPlay really exciting is it’s raising money that’s unrestricted. It’s able to be deployed quickly, deployed where the need is greatest and most fundable. It felt like there was this marrying of worlds, where we had this really exciting new audience, an exciting partner to work with, to make change for children in a way that has profound impact. We’re hoping that, over the three years, this is something where we can grow, learn together, and engage with new people in a new way about something that’s sadly just not going away.
GamesBeat: Starting in October, then, this fundraising is going to be happening. Is it representing one of the biggest parts of your effort, to draw money into solving some of these problems.
Lane: Definitely in the gaming space. UNICEF has quite a long history in entertainment. Soccer Aid is something that perhaps people are more familiar with in our space. We’re able to leverage exciting relationships with partners. We’re hoping to be able to grow our gaming world and our relationship with PlanetPlay in a way that helps us succeed in this space. What makes it a really important way to fund our work for children is you have lots of different people doing it in different ways. That lets us make that change in a way that’s sustainable. So yes, this is absolutely one of the biggest ways in which we’re doing it, especially in this sector. We’re very excited about it.
GamesBeat: How many gaming companies are participating? What are they specifically contributing into this program?
Ower: We’re planning to have around eight to 10 game studios participate. The way it will work is through a bundle. There will be a Play for Every Child bundle. What we’re asking from the game developers is to provide us with Steam keys, about seven and a half thousand keys. They donate those keys, so that when we sell the bundle, then the proceeds from that bundle will go to raising money for UNICEF. That’s how it will work. It’s quite straightforward for a game studio, if they can provide us with those keys.
Within the bundle we’ll have a range of titles, but what’s key about the bundles is the games will be family-friendly games. I don’t think I can mention any names just yet, but we have a few that are going through the vetting process right now, and many more in discussions. It’s a great opportunity for the games industry, because lots of studios have been looking at how they can do something for UNICEF. Obviously UNICEF is a huge organization. Through PlanetPlay, because of this partnership, it enables studios to be able to do something without having to–if they don’t have a big department to do the heavy lifting around contracts and so on, that’s all done. They become part of Play for Every Child and nominate their keys for the bundle. One hundred percent of the profits go to UNICEF from this.
We’ll promote it for one week. It’ll go live on the 15th of October, run for one week, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Players have to act fast to get it. But essentially that’s how it will work. We’re working on what the promotional plan is right now. Once we have the titles all confirmed, we can then confirm how we’re going to get it out to the masses. One of the key things for us is it’s games that haven’t been bundled, or have been in very few bundles before. We’ll have some smaller titles and bigger titles. It’ll be a real mix. It’s shaping up to be very interesting so far.
GamesBeat: Is the messaging or theme focusing on sustainability for the planet, or more on something like child safety or child health?
Ower: We’re looking across all themes and genres. The key thing is family-friendly titles. There will be a breadth of types of games. They don’t have to lean into the green theme, and they don’t have to be specifically gaming for good. It just has to be a game that isn’t violent, that’s family-friendly. That’s the key criterion. But we want it to be a mix of different titles. That should then attract a range of types of players as well.
GamesBeat: UNICEF is a very big organization. How are you able to build a lot of awareness for this project?
Lane: One of the things we’re very proud of at UNICEF is the work we do with our partners. We have a plan in place to make sure we’re able to talk about this partnership, to leverage the opportunity. We want people to know about it. We’ll be putting it on our social channels. We’ll be leveraging our channels to be able to talk about it, because the more people who are able to buy the bundles, the more money that’s able to be ultimately donated to UNICEF. We’ll absolutely use our assets to be able to shout about it. Not only are we really proud of it, but we’re really excited about the impact it will have.
Ower: This isn’t all confirmed as far as the details, but at PlanetPlay we work with influencers and content creators. We’re exploring those collaborations this time as well to help open up to a range of gaming audiences.
GamesBeat: The money that’s raised here, are there specific programs you’re trying to get off the ground with it?
Lane: The money raised is not going to be restricted to a specific program on this occasion. What children need right now is money that’s not pinpointed at this moment in time. Then we’re able to deploy it quickly into wherever the need is greatest. What we do know is that what the world talks about in the media is not necessarily where children are most vulnerable. What’s special about money that’s not restricted by someone saying it should be put toward, say, an education program in X country, is it allows us to deploy where the world’s eyes aren’t, but where it’s desperately needed.
There’s a huge amount of need. Our funding gap is profound. There are cuts across many places where funding is being reduced for children, for international development and humanitarian assistance. This money is able to plug those gaps where it’s desperately needed. That’s why it’s actually pretty special.
GamesBeat: You mentioned some of the challenges now. How would you put that in a historical context?
Lane: What we see is very much a world where we’re in permanent crisis. The world is very much in flux. We’re seeing increasing climate shocks. A good example, I was in Mozambique a couple of months ago, which is the second-poorest country in the world. You have climate shocks there. It’s one of the most impacted by climate-related disaster, whether it’s cyclones or drought. It’s also facing internal conflict and civil war, as well as being economically deprived. What we have is a world where that is becoming more common. With funding being reduced, you have these parts of the world where need is becoming greater, but the funding for it is depleting. That’s where we see a very uncomfortable gap for children. More children are in need of assistance.
I don’t think I could give an accurate statistic, but in terms of the number of people either living in or fleeing conflict, and children specifically–we also know that children in those circumstances are the most vulnerable. They’re also the ones who least deserve to be impacted. Conflict is a big issue. We see that across many humanitarian issues, whether it’s in Sudan, Mozambique, Ukraine. It’s profound.
GamesBeat: How did you come around to the thinking that games can make a difference here?
Lane: We recognize that gaming is a booming sector. The number of people engaging with gaming is increasing year on year. We also know that it’s one of the most influential forms of entertainment. That makes it quite exciting. On top of that, it’s a new audience for UNICEF. We already have a very particular audience that we connect with in different ways. What we have to recognize is that the world is changing. How people want to connect with humanitarian issues or international community development work is changing.
With gaming and doing it in this way, it’s a little bit different. It’s an opportunity for people who want to give slightly differently. They want to do it through a way that they’re already engaging in the world. That’s why we love this partnership. Sometimes asking for a donation isn’t what people can do right now, or they don’t feel comfortable with it. What we’re hoping is that this is a way to connect to them in a world that they already live in and thrive in, to be able to also make it a better place for children.
GamesBeat: Do you see further efforts happening in this area going forward? Do you hope to use gaming to reach people in more than one way?
Lane: We hope so. Like anything, sometimes you have to try something to see how receptive audiences are. Do you have the right proposition for them? From our point of view, gaming is a very special world. We think that children are a really important part of the world themselves, and therefore, how could we marry those two particular areas? So yes, we believe and hope that gaming is something that’s going to play a role long into our future.
GamesBeat: How did you come to choose PlanetPlay as a partner?
Ower: The conversations with Ali and Rhea, and then Ali was in discussions with Felix Bradshaw and myself–one of the biggest reasons, he was talking to many game studios about working in different ways. Lots of conversations were already happening. But with PlanetPlay, what he really liked was the fact that it’s a conduit to the industry. We have lots of studios and publisher partners that want to do good. We make it easy for them to give back. Having that one to many conversation is a really interesting proposition, because it means that we have the partnerships and conversations already in place. We can lean into that and create something. That was the rationale the relationship.
We see this year as very much–we’re creating something quite powerful, but very simple, especially for studios to get involved in, and for players to understand. Like Louise was saying, if we can reach the studios and reach the wider gamer audience, we can start to see what grows from there. That original conversation was about leveraging us as the platform we are to be that one to many – to reach the audiences, to reach the game studios. I know how to work with game studios to bring them in and make it easy for them.
We see this very much as something that will grow and evolve as we see the industry’s feedback and we see the players’ feedback. Year on year we can build on it. We have loads of ideas. We’re starting with something very contained. We’ll review that and then unleash more ideas in the following years once we get more feedback.
GamesBeat: Gaming has a lot of breadth. It’s all over the map in terms of content. Some things are very adult-oriented. We’ve seen concerns about people playing too much. How does UNICEF wrap its head around finding a family-friendly space that’s big enough for the organization to support?
Lane: For us, it’s a space that people are already in. We know that people are already playing. It’s about meeting them where they are. We know that many children and many adults love to game. It’s a big part of their lifestyles and the things that bring them joy. From our point of view, anything that allows us to reach where people already are is an effective way to engage with them.
UNICEF isn’t necessarily trying to encourage more people to game. What we’re trying to do is, for those who are–my little boy, for example, loves to game. It’s about family-friendly propositions in gaming that can also change the world. That’s a lovely thing to be part of.
Ower: When you look at the landscape, there are so many games that exist already that are family-friendly, and many more coming into the market. Our original list, when we started pulling together who we could work with from those we knew already, that we were already in conversations with, it was hundreds. I feel confident that there’s enough there.
It’s an interesting conversation, the question you bring up. We can maybe nod to the research that just came out recently from Games for Change and Tencent, which is called Raising Good Gamers. They looked at hundreds of thousands of pieces of research and content – general sentiment on gaming, the research that’s out there. They find that you’re five times more likely to encounter negative information rather than positive about gaming. But when you look under the surface, there’s much more positivity about gaming. It’s just that what you see and hear are completely different from reality.
As Louise was saying, kids love to play. Families love to play. It’s a positive thing. We just want to highlight that as well. In some cases, games are a lifeline for children and for families. It’s a really cost-effective form of entertainment. It brings people together, especially those who might have accessibility issues. There’s a billion people in the world living with some form of disability. There are so many positive outcomes with gaming that link back to children as well. It can improve lives, lead to happier lives. We don’t need to lean into that too much, but maybe a nod to that. The positive side of gaming is real.
GamesBeat: I know it’s not the easiest time in the world for a lot of game companies. The industry as a whole is still growing, but it’s as competitive as ever. How do you convince game companies that doing good is still something they should think about?
Ower: It is a hard time in the industry. How we navigate that, it’s just being careful, being more mindful about who we speak to. There are studios going through hard times, but there are other studios going through really good times. It’s just trying to find that balance. Not just the right game, but teams that care and want to do something, want to give back.
When it leans into the sorts of audiences they have, or that they would like to have, there’s a really interesting cross-pollination of audiences when we look at what we’re doing here. UNICEF obviously has a massive following. We have a huge amount of gamers. If we can bring those together, then that’s a really interesting proposition for game studios.
Also, the titles we’re looking at–they could be from studios that have a new release coming. We bring a slightly older title into the bundle, which could then help the new release. There are ways we can work with studios to help gain more exposure and do something good at the same time. They can gain that credibility with their players for doing something good. There’s still a huge amount of positive sentiment in the industry. Actually probably more so than ever. Especially if you look at–children’s causes in the game industry tend to do well. You can look at what’s happening with St. Jude’s and other initiatives. Game studios tend to really enjoy working with children and children’s charities.
We just try to navigate it in the right way. We want to be mindful, but also try to find the right games, the right people, and support game studios so that they can gain exposure from being part of this as well.
GamesBeat: The process of UNICEF becoming more comfortable with games and the game industry, what has that been like? How far back does some of this gaming interaction go?
Lane: In a world where we know funding cuts are happening, UNICEF has to consider how it can secure additional funding and how it engages with new audiences. We also know that every generation that comes through wants to engage with issues in different ways. We feel that while gaming has a very broad age reach and audience–this is a new way to engage them, but also younger audiences potentially as well. I can come back to you with more specifics behind that, but from our point of view, this is an exciting place to be partnering.
Ower: If any studios want to get in touch and be a part of this, please do. We have to be really selective on the games. Not every game we discuss will make it, because it has to go through a process within UNICEF as well. But we’d love studios to get in touch, whether it be for this year or subsequent years. We’re happy to guide them through the process and see what we can do.