Use of conflict-free minerals in games saw improvement in 2023
Report shows a positive trend when it comes to sourcing conflict-free minerals, but Sony's performance keeps deteriorating
After a few years of regression, the use of conflict minerals in video games is showing encouraging signs of improvement.
That's according to an in-depth report from journalist Brendan Sinclair on new site Unlosing Writer (formerly managing editor at GamesIndustry.biz), looking at ten game companies' 2024 Form SD filings about their 2023 supply chain.
These reports look into whether the minerals used by companies (in the case of game firms, to make hardware) comes from zones where forced labour is used, benefitting armed militias, and overall violating human rights.
This year, Microsoft reported that 87% of the smelters and refiners in its supply chain passed an audit that certified them to be conflict-free, a good improvement over its 2022 percentage of 65%.
Sony, on the other hand, saw its percentage decrease, with Sinclair noting that "the percentage of Sony's 3TG supply chain certified as conflict-free is the lowest it has been since 2014, the first year disclosures were mandated." (3TG stands for tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold, which are the minerals that publicly traded companies in the US are required to report the sourcing of).
69% of Sony's providers were certified conflict-free, compared to 73% the year before.
Meanwhile, 256 out of Nintendo's 257 providers succeeded their audit, which counts as being 100% conflict-free as figures get rounded up.
Over at Meta, its conflict-free rate improved from 89% of its supply chain last year, to 94% this year.
GameStop (which used 3TGs in various merch it manufactures as well as components to refurbish consoles) had previously performed really poorly – in 2022, only 38% of its suppliers were certified conflict-free. For 2023, it's unclear whether the retailer actually did better, Sinclair said; while all of its providers were confirmed conflict-free, GameStop added a caveat, saying: "Not all of our suppliers, however, identified the sources for their raw materials."
Both Google and Apple have had a completely audited supply chain for a few years, with the former only identifying 3 non-conformant providers out of its 302 suppliers, and the latter scoring a 100% conflict-free supply chain.
The full report also looked into Amazon (which isn't forthcoming with information), Turtle Beach, and Logitech. You can also read our report on 2022 figures here, which links back to all our previous reports.