BUZZ BEAT MEDIA

Sophy Mapua, Juan Lorenzo ‘Uncle Ju’ Marco, and Kyrie ‘Kurimeow’ Cordero are just some of the gaming content creators speaking up about climate change and how it is already shaping everyday life for many young Filipinos. Together with WWF-Philippines, they are helping spark conversations that feel real, relatable, and relevant to today’s generation.

Climate change is not just something happening in headlines. For many young Filipinos, it’s something experienced in small but familiar ways: hotter days that make staying indoors uncomfortable, sudden storms that disrupt routines, flooding that affects travel plans, or power interruptions that cut internet connection in the middle work, school, or gaming sessions.

World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF-Philippines), in partnership with WWF-China and Tencent, is putting the spotlight on a group rarely included in climate conversations but deeply connected online: Filipino youth gamers and content creators.

With over 43 million active gamers in the Philippines and the majority of young internet users regularly playing video games, gaming spaces have become more than just entertainment. Livestreams, online matches, Discord servers, and creator communities have also become places where young people unwind, connect with others, and talk about everyday experiences—-including the realities of living through extreme weather and environmental change.

Rather than approaching climate change through technical discussions or statistics alone, the campaign explores how young people experience these changes in their day-to-day lives, both online and offline. Through conversations with gaming creators and streamers, the initiative highlights how gaming can serve as both an escape from daily stress and a space where real-world concerns still find their way into discussions.

“Gaming is like an escape from reality for me, in a healthy way. I love immersing myself into all the different worlds and seeing life from different characters’ points of view. So when I’m gaming, I don’t really worry about my life and stress, I’m just thinking about the story I’m playing,” shared Sophy Mapua.

The campaign also encourages creators to reflect on how climate and environmental issues already shape their routines, whether through canceled plans due to typhoons, intense heat affecting daily comfort, or disruptions caused by extreme weather events. By grounding the conversation in lived experiences, the campaign makes climate change feel less distant and more personal to young audiences.

“During the early days of my career as livestreamer, the weather was one of my biggest challenges. Whenever there was heavy rain, my internet connection would often become unstable, which made it difficult for me to stream properly and complete the client’s deliverables on time,” shared Juan Lorenzo Marco, popularly known in the gaming space as Uncle Ju. “On the other hand, extreme heat also affected me, especially when attending events. Sometimes, even before arriving at the venue, I would already feel dehydrated and exhausted because of the heat. Those experiences made me realize that weather and climate can really affect not just our comfort, but also our work, productivity, and overall well-being.”

Beyond personal experiences, the initiative also taps into one of gaming’s most powerful qualities: imagination. Many games invite players to build worlds, manage resources, and make choices that affect entire communities or environments. The campaign uses this familiar mindset to encourage young people to think about the kind of future they want to help create in real life.

“My future world would be a place where nature and human creativity coexist perfectly. Instead of a ‘discard’ button, the world would have a ‘reimagine’ mechanic where every resource is recycled into something new and unique. It would require people to choose conscious crafting over mindless consumption,” said Kyrie Shande ‘Kurimeow’ Cordero.

For WWF-Philippines, the campaign is about meeting young people where they already are.

“This campaign is an exciting opportunity to engage a new sector of young Filipinos in conversations about climate change and how it affects their everyday lives. Gaming communities are already spaces where young people connect, share experiences, and express themselves openly. By bringing these discussions into spaces that already feel familiar and personal to them, we hope to encourage more young Filipinos to recognize their role in shaping a more sustainable future,” shared WWF-Philippines Head of Communications Marielle Bordado.

The campaign also reflects a shift in how climate conversations are happening today: less formal, more personal; less about lectures, more about lived experiences. For many young people, climate change is already something they are adapting to, whether through disruptions to daily routines, changing weather patterns, or growing uncertainty about the future.

While the impacts continue to unfold, the campaign emphasizes that choices still remain. Through everyday actions, conversations, and collective awareness, young people continue to shape what comes next—-both in digital spaces and beyond them.

*All Photos from WWF-Philippines