For over 20 years, Huang Mao has been building empires in video games, starting with "Civilization III" when he was just in sixth grade. Today, as a postdoctoral fellow at Tsinghua University's School of Journalism and Communication, he views these games through a different lens.

At the 2026 International Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy Economics, Huang shared his thoughts on how 4X games – those where you explore, expand, exploit and exterminate – are changing how we think about the world.

Traditional 4X games are built on a logic of constant growth. In the classic "Civilization" experience, the rules imply that if you don't grab every resource or push your industrial output higher than your neighbor's, you will fall behind. This style of play reflects an old way of looking at development, often centered on colonial conquest and endless expansion.

But as the world changes, so do the games.

In an exclusive interview with CGTN, Huang pointed out that modern games are introducing new ways to win that don't involve destroying the planet. For example, in "Civilization VI," playing as the Māori encourages a more natural connection to the environment. Instead of just racing to be the biggest and strongest, players are starting to question whether this constant, inefficient competition is really the right way to go.

The conversation between developers and players is shifting the focus from pure development toward sustainability. Some players are even using mods to change the goal of the game entirely. Instead of trying to beat everyone else, these mods might require players to work together to survive a global catastrophe or a zombie apocalypse, Huang said.