THE WISDOM OF THE MARKETS:

 

Siemens has just discovered that it is hard to beat the formidable alliance of climate activists and sustainable investors.

The German engineering conglomerate had been criticized in recent months for having signed a rail-signaling contract for an Australian coal-mining project. Now it has been rebuked by its largest investor, BlackRock, who says that the contract made it "clear that [Siemens] requires a more thorough review of the potential risks, including ESG [environmental, social and governance] risks, presented by future projects."

Climate activist Greta Thunberg's "Fridays for Future" movement had already staged demonstrations in several cities to demand Siemens SIE, -0.73%  withdraw from the deal. But BlackRock's BLK, +1.54%  public scolding of a beacon of German industry clearly shows how careful chief executives should be when dealing with climate change concerns. It will not just be about government regulation, carbon taxes or penalties. Companies will find themselves in the crossfire of protesters and investors.

He may not be a household name, but Alex Hutchinson was behind some of the most popular entertainment products of the last decade. The two games of which he was the director - Assassin's Creed III, the story of a Native American assassin in the 18th century, and Far Cry 4, an explosive shooter inspired by the Nepalese Civil War - have jointly sold more than 20 million copies. But last year, Hutchinson told me he'd "made enough games about murdering".

Hutchinson is not alone. Developers from across the games industry have told me of their appetite to make games that are less violent. None have suggested that combat in games will, or should, disappear - "if I'm running a crime organisation, I expect to have a gun", says Hutchinson - but there's a growing sense that by eschewing violence, videogames can tell richer stories to their huge and growing audience.

Worldwide, the video gaming industry is worth roughly as much as the film and music industries combined; it is estimated that more than two billion people play. Developers, however, still talk about their medium as one that is finding its feet. Rami Ismail, co-founder of the independent Dutch games studio Vlambeer, says violence is partly a relic of early game development; pointing and shooting was the easiest mechanic to base a game around, and game-making tools grew up around this basic principle.

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