McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab: The New 30-Minute Version Explained (2026)

Did your McKinsey Solve invitation just say 95 minutes instead of 85? 😅

You are probably worried. I know I would be.

The McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab has a brand-new version, and most guides online still describe the old one. Some even mix the two together, which makes it very hard to know what you will really face.

So what changed, and what exactly should you do to get a great result?

Well, that’s exactly why I wrote this article. I will show you how the new game works, step by step, and a simple plan to prepare for it.

Let’s dive in!

What Is the McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab?

The Sustainable Futures Lab is the third game in the McKinsey Solve game, after the Redrock Study and Sea Wolf games. Candidates also call it the Sustainable Future Lab, and it is often shortened to SFL. McKinsey added it in early 2026, and the new version appeared in late August 2026.

Unlike Redrock or Sea Wolf, this module has no math and no calculator. It tests your judgment and decision-making: how you set priorities and handle team dynamics when the facts are not complete. Think of it as a situational judgment test packed inside a video game.

If you are new to the McKinsey Solve assessment (also called the McKinsey Digital Assessment), my guide to the McKinsey Problem Solving Game explains all three games. Here, we focus on the third one.

Which Version of the Game Will You Get?

Three versions of the McKinsey Solve test have been used in recent months. The time in your invitation email tells you which one you have:

• 65 minutes: Redrock and Sea Wolf only, so two games and no SFL.
• 85 minutes: Redrock, Sea Wolf and the old 20-minute Sustainable Futures Lab.
• 95 minutes: Redrock, Sea Wolf and the new 30-minute Sustainable Futures Lab.

We have not received recent reports of the first two being used, and the 95-minute version is likely the main one now. That being said, always refer to your invitation email.

What Stays the Same in Both Versions

Both versions use the same sustainability topics, such as an environmental research team working on air quality or a wetland. The setting is only background, and it will likely change from candidate to candidate. You do not need any science knowledge.

Both versions are also click-based (you rank, drag, or choose from options). You never type an essay or speak to anyone.

What Changed in the New McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab?

In the new McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab, you take on more of a project management role. You now decide who works where, in addition to solving the problems that pop up during the day. The game calls you the Team Leader of a research lab, and you run a project that lasts three simulated days.

Here is what changed, and what it was like before:

• Time: the game was 20 minutes; it is now 30 minutes. One clock runs through the whole game and never pauses, and the game warns you when your time starts running out.
• Structure: you used to answer 13 questions in a row (a ranking task, then 12 situation questions). Now you go through a short Tutorial, then Onboarding, Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.
• Information: you are no longer given all the information directly. Instead, you get only a few questions per day to learn about your team and the work.
• Your team: you now place your team members on workstations and give a reason for each move, on top of answering their requests.
• People: at the end of each day, you also rate how each team member is feeling.

The good news? The situation questions you may have prepared for did not disappear. They now sit inside each day, in a stage called Support.

How the New Sustainable Futures Lab Test Works, Step by Step

Let’s go through the game in the order you will play it. Every day follows the same four stages: Explore, Assign, Support and Reflect.

You work with the same 4 team members (the game calls them Researchers) and the same 4 workstations every day. In the version we have seen, the team was an ecologist, a biologist, a habitat planner, and an engineer. Expect different roles in your own game, because the setting tends to change.

Tutorial and Onboarding

The Tutorial is not timed. The 30-minute clock starts only when you click “Start Project”, so use the Tutorial to learn the buttons calmly.

Onboarding works like the ranking task in the old version. You read a short introduction to the project, then rank 4 general questions in the order you want them answered. For example, one asks what work needs to happen, and another asks how to help the team work together.

You get all 4 answers whatever order you choose, but you are judged on your ranking. The answers are not shown again later, so read them carefully.

Explore: Ask the Right Questions

Each day starts with a short Day Goal, such as placing Researchers on the work that best fits their skills. Then you see your 4 team members and 4 workstations on a map. Each one has a one-line description in your Notes.

You get only 2–3 Explore requests a day. Each request is one question to one team member or one workstation. Not everyone can be asked every day: the game highlights who is available.

For a team member, you can ask how they feel about the project today or how they would like to work with others. For a workstation, you can ask what work needs to happen there or what new information has come in. The answers are saved in your Notes, but your Notes reset every day.

Assign: Decide Who Works Where

Your team members already start on workstations, based on their past experience. Your job is to decide whether to change anything. Each workstation can hold up to 2 people, or stay empty.

You drag and drop people to move them. After every move, you must pick a reason from 4 set options: researcher preference, researcher assistance, latest workstation needs, or workstation coverage. When you are happy, you confirm the assignments.

Support: Handle Problems as They Come

This stage is the closest to the old game. A team member describes a problem and asks what to do, and you choose the best response from 2 to 4 answer options.

Most problems involve a decision with another team or stakeholder, for example a late report from another team. Sometimes it is a disagreement inside your own team. If more than one request appears at once, you choose which one to answer first.

There is no feedback after you answer. You will not know if your choice was good, so stay steady.

Reflect: Read Your Team

At the end of each day, you complete one sentence for each team member: “After today’s work on the project, I’m feeling…”. You pick one of 3 feeling words, and the words change each day (on Day 1, for example: Doubtful, Neutral, or Confident).

“I don’t know” is always an option. After Day 3’s Reflect, the game ends.

How to Prepare for the McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab

McKinsey says no preparation is needed. Here’s the truth: the new format surprises almost everyone, and the time pressure is real. A little preparation makes a big difference.

What McKinsey Is Looking For

McKinsey does not publish exactly how the SFL is scored. It is seen as testing how you set priorities, decide with incomplete information, balance trade-offs, and handle your team and stakeholders.

McKinsey claims that there are two scores. Your product score is about your results, and your process score is about how you got there, because the game records your clicks and choices. You can learn more in my McKinsey Solve score guide.

Do well in all three games, and the next step is usually a McKinsey interview: a case interview, often with a personal experience interview (PEI).

Tips for Each Stage

• Keep blank paper and a pen next to you. Your Notes keep only the one-line descriptions and your Explore answers. Anything you need for Reflect, you must write down yourself.
• Onboarding: ask which piece of information is most critical (it goes first) and which one depends on the others (it goes later). Write down the 4 team members and their roles before you move on.
• Explore: read all 8 one-line descriptions first. Skip anyone whose fit you can already guess from the job title, and spend your few requests on the ones you cannot guess.
• Explore questions: with a team member, the “how are you feeling” question is usually the best pick. The answer tells you what they want to work on and how they feel, which you will need in Reflect.
• Assign: place the people you have answers for first, then the rest based on their descriptions. Pick the reason that honestly matches what you did; if you guessed from a description, “Workstation coverage” is usually the fit.
• Support: cut the options that ignore someone, push too hard, or delay action too long. The balanced option, the one a good McKinsey consultant would pick, is usually the strongest. Before you click, note who asked, what it was about, and how they sounded.
• Reflect: use your notes to choose each feeling word. If you have no information on someone, pick “I don’t know” instead of guessing.
• Time: later days have more to read, so do not linger on any single screen.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Treating each day as a fresh start. Your Notes reset, but the project story carries on, so what you learned yesterday still matters.
• Moving people without a clear signal. Change an assignment when an answer tells you something new, not just to look busy.
• Picking the most extreme option in Support. Options that do nothing or overrule everyone tend to be the weaker ones.
• Preparing with old guides only. If a Sustainable Future Lab guide talks about 13 questions in 20 minutes, it describes the old version.

Practice the Right Way

Reading about the game helps, but nothing beats playing it before the real assessment. That’s why we built a full playable Sustainable Futures Lab simulation of the new 30-minute version.

My advice is quality over quantity. A few careful simulation runs, each one reviewed, beat 20 rushed ones. After each run, write down your biggest mistake and fix it next time.

When you prepare for McKinsey Solve, don’t forget the first two games. They come before the SFL, and they have more to learn: see my guides to McKinsey Redrock and the Sea Wolf game.

Frequently Asked Questions About the McKinsey Sustainable Futures Lab