Gamers Unite Around Ukraine
(Image credit: Epic Games Store)
Over 125 Million donated and Growing
As war rages across Ukraine, people find new ways to provide relief aid. In the video game industry, publishers and developers supported those displaced by the constant fighting in Ukraine. Gamers have stepped up and responded with a barrage of donations that continues to grow. The Load Screen covers how campaigns for Fortnite/ Epic Games, Humble, itch.io, and Unity easily surpass 125 million dollars.
Starting with the Unity asset store Ukraine Mega Bundle that just wrapped up, the developer program website has raised over $699,000 with a bundle of packages for the Unity application. The company offered three tiers that increased from four to thirty-two add-ons for $20 to $40, and indie developers have gobbled them up for a good cause. In response to the call for Ukrainian aid through a sale, five individual creators went further by donating at least a thousand dollars.
Unity’s bundle earnings are impressive, but it generated the least amount of the four charitable events. Take Itch.io’s bundle for Ukraine, which pulled in almost ten times the Unity campaign with $6.37 million. Donors received more than a thousand games and other works that include tabletop role-playing assets. , for only ten dollars, with many choosing larger monetary participation. Almost 450,000 gamers contributed to the cause, with one single donor sending out $9,000 on their own. The charities that will receive itch.io’s generosity are the International Medical Corps and Voices of the Children, a Ukrainian organization designed to help children recover from the horrors of war.
Next up is the Humble Bundle Stand with Ukraine pack, which produced over triple the earnings of itch.io for charities that help in Ukraine. The Humble drive raised $20.7 million divided among four charities: the International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, and direct relief. The final charity is Razom for Ukraine which means “together for Ukraine”, and it focuses on greatly needed medical supplies for hospitals in Ukraine. Humble even managed to pull in more contributors than itch.io with 473,000, but neither compares to the final gaming charity for Ukraine so far.
Stepping forward to donate earnings from March 20 until April 3 is Epic Games for their biggest earner Fortnite. As of March 29, the Epic Games Support Humanitarian Relief for Ukraine campaign has reached over 100 million dollars for five charities that support direct relief in Ukraine. Xbox has joined in by offering their Fortnite proceeds to go to charity. The donations will go to Direct Relief, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations World Food Program, UNHCR - the UN Refugee Agency, and World Central Kitchen. With a few more days to go, gamers still have a chance to get some fashionable wear and ridiculous dance moves in Fortnite for a good cause.
Adding all four gaming charity events together shows the generosity of everyone involved, and Ukrainians will, unfortunately, need way more to repair the damage already done to their country. It helps when gamers, developers, and several gaming publishers unite in response to such tragedy. Even after these events end, charities will still need funding for current and future operations, and linked below are charities listed in this article and links for the Red Cross and its international sister organizations. Those who want to help but lack funds for donations can donate time or blood to the Red Cross, especially for any gamers in Europe who want to help. Blood supplies are critical for Ukrainian hospitals, and having stock in Europe will make it easier to get to Ukraine.