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Xsolla Named Lead Sponsor of PlanetPlay's 2026 Environmental Campaign Slate, Backing Battle for the Habitats and the Green Games Showcase at Summer Game Fest

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Xsolla Named Lead Sponsor of PlanetPlay's 2026 Environmental Campaign Slate, Backing Battle for the Habitats and the Green Games Showcase at Summer Game Fest
Business

Business

Xsolla Named Lead Sponsor of PlanetPlay's 2026 Environmental Campaign Slate, Backing Battle for the Habitats and the Green Games Showcase at Summer Game Fest

2026-06-06 03:30 Last Updated At:03:49

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 5, 2026--

Xsolla, a leading global video game commerce company, today announced its lead sponsorship of PlanetPlay's key 2026 environmental campaign slate, encompassing both Battle for the Habitats (BFTH) and the Green Games Showcase (GGS), an official showcase within Summer Game Fest 2026. The partnership establishes Xsolla as the principal commercial partner across both campaigns, which direct net profits to the Rainforest Alliance, Oceana, and the Gold Standard-certified Green. Earth Hongera Energy Efficient Cookstoves Project in Kenya. PlanetPlay is an award-winning not-for-profit gaming platform that has to date channeled more than $2 million to nature and environmental projects worldwide.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260605637892/en/

Battle for the Habitats (BFTH) launched on Earth Day, April 22, and runs through World Environment Day on June 5, 2026, a campaign window anchored to the two most visible dates on the global environmental calendar. The campaign has mobilized over 200 games to date, from an initial target of 100, drawing in publishers including Capcom and Sega, as well as a broad indie cohort. 100 per cent of PlanetPlay’s net profit from every purchase of a BFTH-featured title via its PC games marketplace ( https://planetplay.com/bfth ) is channeled to the Rainforest Alliance and Oceana. Xsolla's branding appears across the PlanetPlay store digital mosaic and all BFTH promotional materials, with a mid-campaign milestone on Endangered Species Day, May 15, marking the halfway point of the activation. The campaign closes on June 5 with various livestreams already occurring with a total combined audience of 16 million followers, including Max Dood and Briana White. Xsolla's existing web shop integration with Avakin Life is already active within BFTH, a live example of the company's direct-to-consumer commerce infrastructure operating at the intersection of gaming and environmental action.

The Green Games Showcase follows on June 6, 2026, streaming at 11 am Pacific Time on the official Summer Game Fest YouTube and Twitch channels. The GGS is co-hosted by award-winning actor Anjali Bhimani, recognized globally as the voice of Symmetra in Overwatch and Rampart in Apex Legends, alongside Jude Ower MBE, Chief Strategy Officer at PlanetPlay and host of the Good Game Club podcast. The 2026 showcase features PC games that reconnect us with nature, spark hope for the future, and remind us what’s worth protecting, a standard that earned the GGS its ranking as the second most-watched showcase at Summer Game Fest 2025.

GGS aims to encourage thoughtful discussion around how games can contribute positively to environmental awareness and action, while recognising that sustainability across the games industry remains an ongoing journey.

Net Profits generated through PlanetPlay's GGS will fund the Gold Standard-certified Green. Earth Hongera Energy Efficient Cookstoves Project in Kenya, which provides cleaner cooking infrastructure to rural communities, reducing carbon emissions, limiting deforestation, and improving health outcomes for thousands of households. A dedicated Steam Wishlist enables players to discover and support participating titles beyond the broadcast window.

"Games have always had the power to move people. The question is whether the industry is willing to point that energy somewhere it matters," said Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla. "Partnering with PlanetPlay puts Xsolla's commerce infrastructure directly in service of real positive outcomes. When a player buys a game and their transaction funds rainforest protection or cleaner energy for communities in Kenya, the game industry functions at its best, and is exactly the ecosystem Xsolla wants to help build."

"Gaming has always been a powerful vehicle for storytelling, and increasingly, for action," said Felix Bradshaw, Chief Business Officer at PlanetPlay. "Xsolla's partnership gives our campaigns the commercial infrastructure and global reach to turn player engagement into real-world environmental impact. Having a commerce partner of this scale behind Battle for the Habitats and the Green Games Showcase means more games, more players, and ultimately more resources directed where they're needed most."

Partnership inquiries and developer introductions through the PlanetPlay opt-in program can be directed to Xsolla's business development team at xsolla.com

Learn more about Xsolla’s sponsorship of PlanetPlay’s 2026 environmental slate by visiting: https://xsolla.pro/PlanetPlay

About Xsolla

Xsolla is a global commerce company that builds and provides all the things developers need to launch, grow, and monetize video games. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the company supports studios of every size, from indie to AAA, with solutions across direct-to-consumer commerce, intelligent payments, entertainment-based IP, and player engagement products. Xsolla helps developers fund, distribute, market, and monetize their games at scale. Trusted by more than 60% of the top 100 highest-grossing games, Xsolla operates as the merchant of record across 200+ geographies with access to over 1,000+ local payment methods worldwide. Grounded in a deep belief in the future of gaming, Xsolla is resolute in bringing opportunities together and unlocking growth for creators everywhere.

For more information, visit xsolla.com

About PlanetPlay

PlanetPlay is an award-winning not-for-profit platform that empowers gamers worldwide to contribute to environmental action through in-game purchases and gameplay with our affiliated game studios. Alongside the pioneering eco-conscious games marketplace, it is also a movement designed to inspire, educate, and mobilise players to support our planet and its rich diversity of life. We are dedicated to unlocking the potential of green initiatives powered by gamers. With its vast reach and influence, the games industry has immense potential to drive positive environmental impacts. In our first year, we have driven over $2.2 million in funding for environmental and nature projects.

For more information, visit www.planetplay.com

Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla

Berkley Egenes, Chief Marketing and Growth Officer at Xsolla

Graphic: Xsolla

Graphic: Xsolla

SANTOS, Brazil (AP) — As the FIFA World Cup approaches, the image of one of Brazil's most recognizable footballers lives on in Santos, the one-time home of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, far better known as Pelé.

Tourists like Mario Álvarez Gamiño, a 67-year-old retired salesperson from Mexico, flock to Santos to see anything that connects the Brazilian port city to the man. The soccer legend's legacy is everywhere — in vibrant murals by street artist Eduardo Kobra, among the memorabilia of his beloved club and even on posters glued to local lampposts.

“His legacy is fundamental. His life will always be an example to follow,” Álvarez said. “At the moment we have Cristiano Ronaldo ... but he lacks something that Pelé had, which is humility. ... He was really a genius.”

Pelé, who died in 2022 at age 82, played at Santos Futebol Clube for most of his career, from 1956 to 1974. He also played for Brazil's team in the World Cup — including three wins in 1958, 1962 and 1970.

Santos is also home to the Pelé Museum, where fans can learn more about Pelé's life and see various memorabilia, including jerseys and trophies.

“When you tell a foreigner you’re from Santos, the first thing they say is ‘Pelé’. That’s why we at the museum have a great responsibility: to carry the name of Pelé and the city of Santos,” said museum director Paulo Monteiro. "After his death, we now have a greater and more difficult mission, which is to keep his legacy active and alive.”

Many of the more than 400,000 residents of Santos never had the chance to see Pelé in action, but they want the legacy to live on.

Among them is bar owner Anderson Albino.

“As local business owners, we see how much international media comes here and how that draws huge numbers of visitors,” Albino said. “For those of us from the city, it’s a privilege that Pelé played for Santos.”

Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

People visit the Pele Museum in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

People visit the Pele Museum in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Children visit the Pele Museum in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Children visit the Pele Museum in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Santos fans walk past a mural of late football legend Pele, right, and Neymar outside Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Santos fans walk past a mural of late football legend Pele, right, and Neymar outside Vila Belmiro Stadium in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Santos' Vila Belmiro stadium sits in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Santos' Vila Belmiro stadium sits in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

A man sits in front of a mural of late football legend Pele and Neymar at a restaurant in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

A man sits in front of a mural of late football legend Pele and Neymar at a restaurant in Santos, Brazil, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

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