Games can put environmental and social ideas in front of enormous audiences, but that reach is not proof that players become more empathetic or change their behavior. In a GamesBeat interview published March 29, 2023, and updated June 18, 2025, SYBO CEO Mathias Gredal Nørvig argued that studios should use play to make those ideas visible—without turning a game into a lecture.
What Nørvig says games can do
Nørvig’s case rests on a game’s capacity to place ideas inside an experience people already choose to engage with. “We believe that games can drive change to save the planet,” he told GamesBeat. He presents a large audience as both an opportunity and a responsibility for a studio: design can make environmental themes and social representation part of the game world rather than leaving them outside the play experience.
That is his argument about potential, not evidence that a particular game reliably causes empathy or lasting behavior change. The interview reports his views and design examples; it does not offer measured outcomes demonstrating that players acted differently.
How Subway Surfers incorporated environmental themes
A greener version of Bali
Nørvig described a green version of Bali in Subway Surfers that included solar panels and recycling bins. These visual elements put environmental ideas into the setting players encounter. The interview does not establish what effect the setting had on players.
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Greener progression and plastic-bottle tokens
He also described a progression mode where the environment becomes greener and plastic bottles serve as tokens. In his account, the theme is expressed through what players see and collect as they play, rather than only through direct instruction.
Nørvig cited a three-week green-game event as an example: he referred to 125 million monthly active users and said players encountered a visual cue every nine seconds. Those figures are his interview-reported illustration of potential exposure, not an independently audited current audience measure or evidence of an effect on players.
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Representation, belonging and the limits of the message
Nørvig connected Subway Surfers’ street-culture aesthetic and character range with creative expression and belonging. He also mentioned a Pride category; the interview’s June reference does not specify a year. These are examples of how SYBO says representation appears in its game, not a measure of how players experienced it.
He also stressed that a social or environmental message must fit the tone of the game. “It can’t be too preachy,” he said, warning that repeatedly telling players to change everyday habits could cause them to disengage. The aim, as he described it, is to invite curiosity while allowing the game to remain a break.
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SYBO’s alliance work and the scale figures in the interview
Nørvig described SYBO’s involvement in the Playing for the Planet Alliance, saying the studio helped found it. He also discussed an annual game jam in which studios explored features for major games. The interview presents this as a way for developers to consider sustainability in game design; it does not provide comparative evidence about the results of those features.
GamesBeat reported four billion Subway Surfers downloads since the game’s 2012 launch. Nørvig separately cited 100–150 million unique monthly users as SYBO’s reach. Both are historical figures reported in the interview, not current metrics or independently audited statistics.
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What this argument does—and does not—establish
Nørvig’s examples show a design approach: weave a theme into settings, progression, collectibles and character representation, while avoiding a tone that pushes players away. They explain why a studio might see games as a channel for social or environmental ideas. They do not show that exposure alone produces empathy, changes habits or leads to lasting real-world action.
Broader discussion of games for impact includes possible applications in social connection and accessibility, but that context does not settle the causal question for SYBO’s initiatives. A stronger claim about impact would require evidence of outcomes beyond audience size, engagement or how often players see a visual cue. For Nørvig, the point is that games can create an opening for change—not that the interview proves they have done so.
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