Why a Game About Climate Litigation Matters More Than You Think

For the past several months, our founder, Loes, has been part of the All Will Rise team as a climate law professional.

Here's what she has to say about it:

When I first joined the project, I had absolutely no background in gaming. I was very much the newcomer in the room. In fact, during some of the early discussions, I had to ask basic questions about things that were obvious to others, including what exactly an “NPC” was.

Over time, though, that initial unfamiliarity turned into a deep respect for the creative talent involved. Seeing how game designers build systems, create narratives, and translate real-world dynamics into interactive experiences gave me a new appreciation for the medium.

For someone like me, whose work focuses on tracking climate litigation around the world, I began to understand the huge potential this game could have. In my day-to-day work, I see the realities faced by climate litigators and activists. Their work involves long hours of legal research, difficult strategic decisions, and constant societal pressures. One of the most interesting aspects of All Will Rise is how accurately it brings those dynamics to life (just on a slightly more attainable timeline 🙂). The strategic choices, the tension between different legal arguments, and the broader stakes of litigation are all reflected in ways that feel real and authentic.

The game even opens with a Rights of Nature case, where a river is recognized as having legal personhood. At first, that might sound like a clear legal victory. But the story immediately asks the next question: what happens after that? How do you actually protect a river once it has legal rights?

The case quickly expands beyond the courtroom. Local fishermen worry about their livelihoods. Workers depend on nearby industries for employment. Environmental advocates demand stronger protections. Government officials face economic pressures. As the player, you have to navigate these competing interests while building a legal strategy that can actually hold up in court.

This is exactly the kind of complexity that defines real climate litigation. A single case rarely affects only one issue or one group of people. Court decisions ripple through society, shaping communities, industries, and policy debates. All Will Rise captures that reality remarkably well.

Climate litigation itself has become one of the most important developments in climate governance. Courts around the world are increasingly being asked to address questions that were once treated purely as political matters. Can governments be legally required to strengthen their climate policies? Can companies be held responsible for the climate impacts of their operations? Do citizens have enforceable rights when climate change threatens their homes, health, or livelihoods?

These questions are now appearing regularly in courts from the Netherlands to the United States to India, and the answers are shaping climate policy in very real ways.

At the same time, climate litigation is still unfamiliar territory for many people. Most discussions happen within legal circles, academic publications, or specialized organizations. A game has the unique ability to change that by translating complex systems into something interactive, understandable, and even fun!

In the context of climate litigation, that means allowing players to explore how cases develop, how legal strategies are formed, and how courts can influence environmental outcomes. Instead of reading about climate lawsuits from the outside, players experience the strategic thinking and trade-offs that shape litigation.

This also matters because there is still a great deal of misunderstanding and misinformation about climate litigation. Cases are sometimes portrayed as purely political tools or as attempts to bypass democratic processes. In reality, they involve detailed legal arguments, scientific evidence, and complex questions about regulatory frameworks and accountability.

By allowing players to see how these cases unfold, a game can help demystify the process and show that climate litigation is ultimately about how existing legal systems respond to new environmental challenges.

That is what makes All Will Rise so exciting for me. It is not simply a game that references climate law. It is a way for people to engage with the role of law in addressing climate change and to better understand how litigation can function as a tool for accountability and policy change. It also offers an opportunity to push back against misinformation by showing the legal reasoning, the evidence, and the procedural challenges that shape real cases.

Climate litigation has already produced significant real-world outcomes. Courts have ordered governments to strengthen emissions reduction targets, halted fossil fuel projects, required environmental assessments, and pushed companies to confront the legal implications of their climate strategies. Yet many people are still unaware of how central courts have become in climate action. If a game can help make that more visible, it could open the door to a broader conversation about law, responsibility, and climate action.

Right now, the All Will Rise team is fundraising to bring the project to life. Reaching our goal of €100,000 would allow the team to take an important next step and develop a mobile version of the game. That step could make a real difference. While a PC game reaches an engaged audience, a mobile version has the potential to reach people everywhere. It could introduce students, activists, and curious players around the world to the dynamics of climate litigation in a way that is interactive and accessible.

If you find the idea of bringing climate litigation to new audiences exciting, I encourage you to support All Will Rise and help us reach the €100,000 goal. Every contribution moves the project closer to that next stage and helps share the story of climate litigation with far more people than traditional platforms ever could.

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