‘Fortnite’ players raised $144 million for Ukraine relief efforts

Epic Games and Microsoft have wrapped up their campaign to support Ukraine relief efforts through Fortnite after raising an impressive $144 million. Both companies donated their proceeds from the game for the last two weeks to humanitarian causes supporting people affected by the war. The funds will go to Direct Relief, UNICEF, UN World Food Program, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and World Central Kitchen.

The campaign aligned with the start of Fortnite‘s latest season, meaning that many players were buying V-Bucks to unlock the latest Battle Pass and scoop up new in-game items. Epic and Xbox donated their cuts of gifted Battle Passes, Fortnite Crew subscriptions and gift cards redeemed during that time to relief efforts as well.

Epic will donate two weeks of ‘Fortnite’ proceeds to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine

Starting today through to April 3rd, Epic Games will donate all of its Fortnite proceeds to humanitarian organizations providing on-the-ground relief to Ukrainians affected by the invasion of their country. Players can support the action by making…

Itch.io’s $10 bundle with almost 1,000 games will benefit charities helping Ukraine

A charity bundle on Itch.io organized by Necrosoft Games offers a collection of 991 indie games, soundtracks, books, comics, tabletop RPGs and gaming tools for a minimum of donation of $10 — and all proceeds will go to organizations helping relief efforts in Ukraine. The bundle includes games like Baba is You, 2064 Read Only Memories, Celeste, Skatebird and Towerfall Ascension. It also includes text message adventure game Bury Me My Love, which tells the story of a Syrian refugee couple, and military RPG Long Gone Days that focuses on the human cost of war.

Necrosoft only added paid products to the bunch, and 600 of them have never been in a major bundle before. In all, the items in the bundle cost around $6,500 when you add up their regular retail prices. Everything the developer gets after card processing fees will go to two charity organizations in particular, one of which is the International Medical Corps. It’s a humanitarian nonprofit that’s currently working in Ukraine to increase access to medical services, including mental health support, and to help contain the spread of COVID-19. The other beneficiary is the Ukrainian organization Voices of Children, which sets up shelters and helps children cope with the horrors of war. 

While Necrosoft is only asking for a minimum of $10 for all 991 items, it’s urging donors to pay more if they can. The company is hoping to raise $1 million for the causes it supports until March 17th. 

Riot Games will donate proceeds from in-game passes to Ukraine relief

Over the weekend, Riot Games announced it would respond to calls from its community to provide aid during the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Until March 12th, the studio will donate all proceeds from the sale of Valorant, Legends of Runterra, Teamfight Tactics and Wild Rift battle passes, as well as its new Bee skins in League of Legends, to support humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. Additionally, Riot said it would donate $1 million out of pocket to Doctors Without Borders, the Polish Red Cross and the International Medical Corps.      

“All proceeds from both Riot’s donation and the player fundraiser will directly support humanitarian relief in Ukraine and other affected areas,” the company said. The studio joins a growing list of gaming companies that are donating toward humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. On the same day Activision Blizzard said it was halting sales of its games in Russia, the publisher announced it would also match employee donations to relief organizations helping out in the region at a rate of two to one.