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PlayStation to plant hundreds of thousands of trees as part of Horizon: Forbidden West launch

Sony to support projects in US, UK, France, Germany, Canada and New Zealand

PlayStation says it will build 'Aloy's Forests' around the world as part of its launch plans for Horizon: Forbidden West.

Aloy is the protagonist in the Horizon series, which returns this week on PS5 and PS4. The 'Forests' initiative reflects the themes of the game, Sony says. The launch plans are designed to encourage players to complete trophies and tasks, and in return PlayStation will plant trees, and help create and restore natural habitats.

The firm has teamed up with projects in the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada and New Zealand. The initiative is supported by Play4Forests, which is a UN-backed project that's part of the Playing for the Planet Alliance.

In the US, Sony has teamed up with Arbor Day Foundation and will plant a tree for every player who achieves the 'Reached the Daunt' trophy, up to a maximum of 288,000 trees. This will help complete reforestation projects in California, Florida and Wisconsin, the firm says.

In the UK, the partnership is with the Eden Project that will result in a 12-acre wildflower habitat being sown in Lancashire next month.

In New Zealand, street artist Flox has created Horizon: Forbidden West artwork across Aukland, and Sony will plant a tree for every social share of the artwork. The aim is to plant 1,000 trees.

In France, similar to the US, Sony has partnered with MyTree to plant a tree for every five 'Reached the Daunt' trophies that players (who have opted in) achieve. The maximum amount is 10,000 trees.

In Canada, the work is with the WWF in rehabilitating seagrass on the coast of British Columbia. Sony will donate CAD$1 for every copy of the game sold, up to $100,000.

And finally in Germany, PlayStation is collaborating with Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald (SWD) to plant a tree for every trophy shared via #AloysWald on Twitter, up to a maximum of 5,000 trees. The trees are part of a research forest in Bavaria.

Sony's current commitment is to have a zero environmental footprint throughout the lifecycle of its products and business activities by 2050. Sony Interactive Entertainment says it has purchased carbon offsets from the Gold Standard organisation, which is the equivalent to emissions arising from 10 million hours on PlayStation consoles.

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Christopher Dring avatar

Christopher Dring

Head of Games B2B

Chris is a 17-year media veteran specialising in the business of video games. And, erm, Doctor Who